却 meaning in English

què

but; yet

HSK 4adverbTraditional 卻7 strokes

Meaning of 却

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

què

but
yet
however
while
to go back
to decline
to retreat
nevertheless

què

old variant of 卻|却[que4]

How to use 却

In modern Chinese 却 is mostly an adverb meaning "but" or "yet", showing that something is unexpected. It goes after the subject and before the verb, often in the second clause. Example: 他很累，却不想睡觉。(Tā hěn lèi, què bù xiǎng shuìjiào.) He is very tired, yet he does not want to sleep.

却 has 去 (qù, to go) on the left and a kneeling figure 卩 on the right. Picture someone who was about to go but kneels and pulls back instead, which fits its senses of retreat and "but, yet".

Common mistake: Learners often put 却 at the start of a clause like 但是 (dànshì), as in 却他不来. 却 must come after the subject: 他却不来. Also do not write the left part as 土 plus 厶 carelessly so it looks like 劫 (jié) or confuse it with 脚 (jiǎo), which adds 月.

却 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ打dǎ了le电diàn话huà给gěi你nǐ，但dàn却què接jiē不bù通tōng。

I tried to reach you on the phone, but I was unable to get through.

说shuō英yīng语yǔ不bù容róng易yì但dàn它tā却què很hěn有yǒu趣qù。

To speak English is not easy, but it is interesting.

你nǐ活huó着zhe，但dàn是shì却què不bù知zhī道dào为wèi什shén么me活huó着zhe。

You will exist but you will never know what it is to live.

我wǒ好hǎo声shēng好hǎo气qì地dì问wèn他tā，他tā却què没méi有yǒu回huí答dá。

I asked him with good intentions, but he did not answer.

她tā很hěn有yǒu钱qián却què很hěn不bù幸xìng。

She is rich, but unfortunate.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

却 què · but · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 却.

却是	què shì	nevertheless; actually
退却	tuìquè	to retreat; to shrink back
了却	liǎoquè	to resolve; to settle
忘却	wàngquè	(literary) to put out of one's mind; to forget
冷却	lěngquè	(lit. and fig.) to cool

Questions about 却

What does 却 mean?

却 (què) means "but; yet" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 却?

却 is made of 1 character: 却 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.

Is 却 an HSK word?

Yes. 却 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 却 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 却 is written 卻.

What is the difference between 却 and 但是?

但是 is a conjunction that starts a clause, while 却 is an adverb that sits after the subject. They can be used together: 但是他却没来 (dànshì tā què méi lái), but he didn't come after all.

What does 却 mean in words like 冷却 and 忘却?

After a verb, 却 keeps its older meaning of going away or removing. 冷却 (lěngquè) means to cool down, and 忘却 (wàngquè) is a literary word for forgetting completely.