Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 10: 11/12

けれども

But, Although

Structure

Verb + けれども
［い］Adjective + けれども
［な］Adjective + だ + けれども
Noun + だ + けれども

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Conjunctive Particle

  • Register

    Formal

  • 品詞

    助詞

  • 単語の種類

    接続助詞

  • 使用域

    硬い

About けれども

けれども is the more formal (full version) of the conjunction particle けど. Like けど, it usually carries the meaning of 'but', but because of its formality, sounds a bit more like 'although', or 'provided that'. It simply highlights that 'while thinking about (A), (B)'. Meaning that the (B) phrase is important, or needs to be considered.

As can be seen from these examples, だ will be required when using this conjunction after a な-Adjective, or a noun.

As a reminder, please see below for a list of the most casual form of 'but', to the most formal.

Casual - けど - けども - けれど - けれども - が - Formal.

Fun Fact

Originally, けれども was thought to be a more feminine version of が. However, the modern けど is so common that it has lost all of the feminine nuance that came from けれども.

Caution

As with けど (and other forms of 'but' in Japanese), the phrase after けれども will often be omitted if it is obvious, or the speaker does not want to say it.

  • もう晩(ばん)ご飯(はん)食(た)べたけれども。
    I already ate dinner, but… (There's always room for dessert!)

Examples

  • 私(わたし)はこの本(ほん)が好(す)きではないけれども、あなたは好(す)きでしょう。

    I don't like this book, but you do, don't you?

    • トムに言(い)ったけれども、トムは忘(わす)れました。

      I told that to Tom, but he forgot.

      • 掃除(そうじ)をしたけれども、まだ汚(きたな)い。

        I cleaned, but it is still dirty.

        • 映画(えいが)を見(み)るのは楽(たの)しいけれども、チケットが高(たか)い。

          Watching movies is fun, but tickets are expensive.

          • 電車(でんしゃ)は便利(べんり)だけれども、いつも人(ひと)が多(おお)い。

            The train is convenient, but there are always a lot of people.

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            けれども – Grammar Discussion

            Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

            • TheUltimateAbsol

              TheUltimateAbsol

              Thanks! Detailed explanations like this are hard to find

            • diddy_dante

              diddy_dante

              in
              トムに言った_[formal expression]_、トムは忘れました。

              How come んだけれども is accepted but not んですけれども? Especially after reading your text, you say that ですけれども is actually more common than だけれども.

            • mrnoone

              mrnoone

              Hey and welcome on the community forums @diddy_dante
              Thanks for the post, it is now accepted as an answer

              Cheers!

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