The word “but” can play a crucial role in language as it introduces a contrast or exception. This small conjunction varies significantly across different languages, adding a unique twist to each. Here, we explore how the word “but” is said in 70 different languages from around the world, ranging from the most widely spoken to those lesser-known.
Here is a list of how to say “but” in 70 different languages:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Por | Pronunciation: Por
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – لكن (Lakin) | Pronunciation: La-kin
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Բայց (Bayts) | Pronunciation: Baits
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Amma | Pronunciation: Am-ma
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Baina | Pronunciation: Bai-na
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Але (Ale) | Pronunciation: Ah-le
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – কিন্তু (Kintu) | Pronunciation: Kin-too
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Ali | Pronunciation: Ah-lee
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Но (No) | Pronunciation: No
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Però | Pronunciation: Pe-ro
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Ale | Pronunciation: Ah-le
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Men | Pronunciation: Men
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Maar | Pronunciation: Maar
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – But | Pronunciation: But
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Aga | Pronunciation: Ah-ga
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – اما (Amma) | Pronunciation: Am-ma
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Mutta | Pronunciation: Moot-ta
- French (🇫🇷) – Mais | Pronunciation: May
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – მაგრამ (Mag’ram) | Pronunciation: Ma-gram
- German (🇩🇪) – Aber | Pronunciation: Ah-ber
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Αλλά (Alla) | Pronunciation: Ah-la
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – אבל (Aval) | Pronunciation: Ah-val
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – लेकिन (Lekin) | Pronunciation: Lay-kin
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – De | Pronunciation: Deh
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – En | Pronunciation: En
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Tapi | Pronunciation: Tah-pee
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Ach | Pronunciation: Ahk
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Ma | Pronunciation: Mah
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – でも (Demo) | Pronunciation: De-mo
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Бірақ (Biraq) | Pronunciation: Bi-rak
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – ប៉ុន្តែ (Ponte) | Pronunciation: Pon-tay
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 그러나 (Geureona) | Pronunciation: Gruh-na
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Lê | Pronunciation: Leh
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Бирок (Birok) | Pronunciation: Bi-rok
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ແຕ່ (Tae) | Pronunciation: Tae
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Bet | Pronunciation: Bet
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Bet | Pronunciation: Bet
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Mä | Pronunciation: Meh
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Но (No) | Pronunciation: No
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Tetapi | Pronunciation: Te-ta-pee
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Imma | Pronunciation: Im-ma
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 但是 (Danshi) | Pronunciation: Dan-she
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – पण (Pan) | Pronunciation: Paan
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Гэхдээ (Gekhdee) | Pronunciation: Geh-kh-deh
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – तर (Tar) | Pronunciation: Tar
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Men | Pronunciation: Men
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – خو (Kho) | Pronunciation: Kho
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – ولی (Vali) | Pronunciation: Vah-lee
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Ale | Pronunciation: Ah-le
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Mas | Pronunciation: Mahs
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Dar | Pronunciation: Dar
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Но (No) | Pronunciation: No
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Али (Ali) | Pronunciation: Ah-lee
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – නමුත් (Namuth) | Pronunciation: Na-muth
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Ale | Pronunciation: Ah-le
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Ampak | Pronunciation: Am-pak
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Laakiin | Pronunciation: Laa-keen
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Pero | Pronunciation: Pe-ro
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Lakini | Pronunciation: La-kee-nee
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Men | Pronunciation: Men
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Вале (Vale) | Pronunciation: Vah-le
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – ஆனால் (Aanal) | Pronunciation: Aa-nal
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – కానీ (Kaani) | Pronunciation: Kaa-nee
- Thai (🇹🇭) – แต่ (Tae) | Pronunciation: Tae
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Ama | Pronunciation: Ah-ma
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Але (Ale) | Pronunciation: Ah-le
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – مگر (Magar) | Pronunciation: Ma-gar
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Lekin | Pronunciation: Le-kin
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Nhưng | Pronunciation: Nyoong
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Ond | Pronunciation: Ond