但

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but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

Components 亻旦

however · Heisig RSH #805

人 person + 旦 daybreak

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
不求有功，但求无过	bù qiú yǒu gōng , dàn qiú wú guò	lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mis…
格但斯克	Gé dàn sī kè	Gdansk, city on Baltic in north Poland
但以理书	Dàn yǐ lǐ shū	Book of Daniel
但尼生	Dàn ní shēng	Tennyson (name); Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-1892), English poet
约但河	Yuē dàn Hé	variant of 約旦河\|约旦河[Yue1 dan4 He2]
圣但尼	Shèng dàn ní	St Denis or St Dennis
但愿如此	dàn yuàn rú cǐ	if only it were so; I hope so (idiom)
不但	bù dàn	not only (... but also ...)
马但	Mǎ dàn	Matthan, son of Eleazar and father of Jakob in Matthew 1.15
但书	dàn shū	proviso; qualifying clause
非但	fēi dàn	not only
约但	Yuē dàn	variant of 約旦\|约旦[Yue1 dan4]
但丁	Dàn dīng	Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Italian poet, author of the Divine Comedy 神曲
但说无妨	dàn shuō wú fáng	there is no harm in saying what one thinks (idiom)
但是	dàn shì	but; however
撒但	Sā dàn	variant of 撒旦[Sa1 dan4], Satan or Shaitan
但愿	dàn yuàn	if only (sth were possible); I wish (that)
虽迟但到	suī chí dàn dào	(slang) slow to arrive but eventually shows up
但凡	dàn fán	every single; as long as

Characters sharing the sound component 旦 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
旦 sound part	dàn	dawn; morning; day
量	liáng	measure, volume; amount, quantity
胆	dǎn	gallbladder; gall, guts, courage
坦	tǎn	flat, level, smooth; candid, open
担	dān	to bear, to carry; burden, responsibility
袒	tǎn	to strip, to bare
疸	dǎn	jaundice; stomach disorder
靼	dá	the Tartars
怛	dá	grieving; worried
亶	dǎn	real, sincere, true; truth
妲	dá	concubine of the last Shang emperor
笪	dá	a coarse mat of rushes or bamboo
钽	tǎn	tantalum