GrammarJLPT N5
→ but
が – But; However (Clause Connector)
JLPT N5ConjunctionNeutral
が placed at the end of a clause functions as a conjunction meaning "but" or "however," connecting two sentences into one. Unlike が as a subject marker (が ①), this が links two contrasting or related clauses, similar to けど or しかし. It sits at the boundary between the first clause and the second, typically after a verb, adjective, or copula in their polite (ます/です) or plain forms. Compared to けど, が is slightly more formal and is very common in polite speech and writing. Compared to しかし and でも, which begin a new sentence, が joins two clauses within a single sentence. An important nuance is that が does not always express strong contrast; it is also used as a soft connector to introduce a topic or preface a request, functioning more like "and" or as a gentle lead-in rather than a sharp "but."
Functions
#1 Expressing contrast (but / however)
Structure
Clause 1 + が + Clause 2 (contrasting information)
日本語は好きですが、英語はあまり好きではありません。
Here が connects two clauses that present contrasting information: liking Japanese versus not liking English. The speaker uses が after the polite form です to smoothly transition to the second clause, which offers an opposing statement. This is the most common and straightforward use of が as a conjunction, directly equivalent to "but" in English.I like Japanese, but I don't really like English.
Structures
- Clause connector
- Clause 1 (polite/plain form) + が + Clause 2
Common mistakes
Learners often confuse the conjunction が (meaning "but") with the subject-marking particle が. Context and position are key: the conjunction が appears after a complete clause (after です, ます, or a plain-form predicate), while the subject particle appears after a noun. Another common mistake is using が interchangeably with でも; remember that でも starts a new sentence, whereas が connects two clauses within one sentence. Some learners also overuse が for strong contrast where のに ("even though," with a sense of frustration or unexpectedness) would be more natural. Finally, beginners sometimes forget that が can function as a soft lead-in without any real contrast, and they may misinterpret sentences like すみませんが as containing opposition when it is simply a polite preface.
Related
けどけれどもしかしでものに