虽然 + Clause A, 但是/可是 + Clause B
虽然...但是... (suīrán...dànshì...) — 'although...but...'
虽然...但是... links a concession and a contrasting point — 'although A, but B', where B pushes back against what A would normally lead you to expect: 虽然他很累，但是他还是去上班了 (although he was very tired, he still went to work). Unlike English 'although...but' (which is redundant and avoided), Chinese not only allows both words together, it strongly prefers them — 虽然 alone without 但是/可是 can sound like an unfinished thought. 可是 works interchangeably with 但是 here, just slightly more conversational. The deciding question: does the second half go against the natural expectation set up by the first half? If so, keep both 虽然 and 但是/可是 — don't drop the second one the way English drops 'but' after 'although'.
Examples
- 虽然他很累，但是他还是去上班了。suī rán tā hěn lèi, dàn shì tā hái shi qù shàng bān le
Although he was very tired, he still went to work.
- 这道题虽然难，可是我还是做出来了。zhè dào tí suī rán nán, kě shì wǒ hái shi zuò chū lái le
Although this problem was hard, I still solved it.
- 虽然他中文说得不错，但是写汉字还是有点儿困难。suī rán tā zhōng wén shuō de bú cuò, dàn shì xiě hàn zì hái shi yǒu diǎnr kùn nan
Although he speaks Chinese pretty well, writing characters is still a bit hard for him.
Common mistake
✗ Wrong: 虽然他很累，他还是去上班了。
✓ Right: 虽然他很累，但是他还是去上班了。
Chinese keeps both halves of the pair — dropping 但是/可是 the way English drops 'but' after 'although' makes the sentence sound unfinished; 虽然 alone isn't enough.
Practice this pattern
Fill in the missing character:
＿然他很累，但是他还是去上班了。
Although he was very tired, he still went to work.