但 (dàn) — But in Mandarin
🔊 Tap to hear it
#41 most common word
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
但 is pronounced dàn. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
wǒ xǐhuān kāfēi, dàn wǒ gèng xǐhuān chá.
I like coffee, but I like tea more.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 但 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 但 mean?+
但 (dàn) means "But" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 但?+
但 is pronounced dàn. It uses the tone 4 (falling). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 但 in Mandarin?+
但 is the #41 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.