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JLPT N5Conjunctions

けれども / けど(keredomo / kedo) — The Soft "But"

A very common conjunction that joins clauses with contrast ("but/although"). It is also used as a polite softener/buffer to avoid sounding blunt.

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Pro lessonUNIT 9 · CONJUNCTIONS

Structure · 形

[Clause 1] + けれども / けど + [Clause 2]

Examples · 例文

  • 高いけれども、品質がいいです。

    Takai keredomo, hinshitsu ga ii desu.

    It is expensive, but the quality is excellent.

    けれども gives a formal, slightly stiff contrast.

  • 少し遠いけど、歩きましょう。

    Sukoshi tooi kedo, arukimashou.

    It's a bit far, but let's walk.

    けど is the everyday conversational variant.

  • 日本語は難しいけれども、面白いです。

    Nihongo wa muzukashii keredomo, omoshiroi desu.

    Japanese is difficult, but it is interesting.

    けれども joins the two clauses with a soft contrast.

Usage notes · 注意

  • Formality Spectrum: けれども (formal/written) ＞ けれど (mid) ＞ けど (casual/spoken); けども is also heard.
  • Buffer Use: It's very common to trail off on けど… ("I'd love to help, kedo…") to imply a negative conclusion politely without stating it.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones けれども is tested against.

vsが (formal but)

が is the more formal/written contrastive conjunction (高いですが…). けど/けれども are its everyday spoken counterparts with the same core meaning.

vsのに (unexpected but)

けど is a plain neutral "but". のに adds surprise, complaint, or dissatisfaction that the result went against expectation (高いのに、まずい = it's expensive yet it tastes bad!).

vsしかし / でも

しかし (formal) and でも (casual) begin a NEW sentence with "however/but"; けど/けれども connect two clauses WITHIN one sentence.

More conjunctions

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