How to Say "But" in Dutch - How To Say Guide

maar

/maːr/

The English phrase "but" is translated into Dutch as maar.

In certain contexts, maar can also function as an adverb meaning "just" or "only".

Which one should you use?

While maar is the most common way to say "but", echter is a more formal alternative used in written text to mean "however".

/maːr/

Although it looks like the English 'mere', the Dutch maar is actually an apheretic form of an older expression meaning 'were not'.
Dutch speakers often use maar as a 'modal particle' at the end of a sentence to soften a command or make it sound more friendly, such as in Kom maar binnen ('Just come in').
Dutch speakers use maar to indicate that a situation is frustratingly unchanging, as in het blijft maar regenen, meaning 'it just keeps on raining'.

Maar wat zie ik!
But what do I see!
Tatoeba #11618604 by PaulP, translation #2740353 by hantol01
Maar ik wil niet.
But I don't want to.
Tatoeba #1497345 by Citrine, translation #1491670 by fanty
Maar hij leeft nog?
But he's still alive?
Tatoeba #8570165 by Elsofie, translation #3444877 by LishaR
Ik vind hem aardig, maar hij praat te veel.
I like him, but he talks too much.
De zon scheen. Echter, het was nog steeds koud.
The sun was shining. However, it was still cold.
Mijn broer houdt van sport. Ik, daarentegen, houd meer van lezen.
My brother loves sports. I, on the other hand, prefer reading.
Het is duur, maar ja, wat kun je eraan doen?
It's expensive, but well, what can you do about it?
Ik ben moe, maar ik wil nog niet naar bed.
I am tired, but I don't want to go to bed yet.
Ik houd van sport. Echter/daarentegen houd ik niet van voetbal.
I love sports. However, I don't like soccer.
Het is warm buiten, maar ja, de airconditioning is stuk.
It's hot outside, but well, the air conditioning is broken.
1470 more sentences on Tatoeba

Daan and Julia are discussing their weekend plans.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏