N3 — outside your level filter

but; and yet — the plain-style written "however"

何度なんどかれ電話でんわをかけた。だが、一度いちどなかった。

nando mo kare ni denwa o kaketa. daga, ichido mo denakatta.

I called him again and again. But he never once picked up. neutral

計画けいかくそのものはわるくない。だが、いま予算よさんでは実現じつげんできない。

keikaku sonomono wa warukunai. daga, ima no yosan de wa jitsugen dekinai.

The plan itself isn't bad. Yet with the budget as it stands it can't be carried out. neutral

Variants

  • ですがdesugaformal

    the polite face — meetings, service speech and mail close to speech; formal ですます writing still opens with しかし far more often.

  • だがしかしdagashikashicolloquial

    doubles up for effect; commentary, blogs and speech reaching for drama, never a report.

だが

だがdagaN3formal

Formation

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