How to say 可是

  • Traditional characters: 可是
  • Pinyin (Taiwan standard): kě shì
  • Zhuyin (bopomofo): ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ
  • Meaning: but / however (casual)

Hear it in a Taiwan accent:

可是 in example sentences

Real lines from CiaoSpeak’s graded stories, each with pinyin, an English translation and Taiwan-accent audio.

台南坐高鐵才一個半小時，可是高鐵票很貴。

Tái nán zuò gāo tiě cái yí ge bàn xiǎo shí kě shì gāo tiě piào hěn guì

Tainan's only an hour and a half on the high-speed rail — but those tickets are pricey.

From the story 台南還是花蓮？ (Tainan or Hualien?)

市場很吵，可是有剉冰。芒果剉冰，一碗六十塊。

shì chǎng hěn chǎo kě shì yǒu cuò bīng máng guǒ cuò bīng yì wǎn liù shí kuài

The market's noisy, but it has shaved ice. Mango shaved ice, sixty a bowl.

From the story 三十六度 (Thirty-Six Degrees)

我也在郵局對面啊。可是我沒看到你。

wǒ yě zài yóu jú duì miàn a kě shì wǒ méi kàn dào nǐ

I'm across from the post office too. But I don't see you.

From the story 哪一家郵局？ (Which Post Office?)

多五百。可是可以看到海。

duō wǔ bǎi kě shì kě yǐ kàn dào hǎi

Five hundred more. But you can see the ocean.

From the story 訂錯了 (Booked Wrong)

說對了…可是我把「簡報」說成「煎包」。

shuō duì le kě shì wǒ bǎ jiǎn bào shuō chéng jiān bāo

I did... but I said 'jiānbāo' — pan-fried bun — instead of 'jiǎnbào'.

From the story 準備簡報 (Getting Ready for the Presentation)

Where 可是 is taught

  • Unit level: TOCFL Band B (CiaoSpeak’s placement, not the official TOCFL word list)
  • Unit: Opinions & Hypotheticals
  • Lesson: Although... But
  • Taught just before: 雖然
  • Taught just after: 不過