{"id":142706,"date":"2023-09-13T11:29:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T15:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/but-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-02-22T04:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T09:58:32","slug":"but-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/but-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Say “But” in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

It might not come as a surprise that\u00a0\u201cbut\u201d is one of the most common words<\/a><\/strong> in the English language<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You have to assume the same goes for Spanish, so you should learn the equivalents.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: equivalents, plural. Spanish has five words that capture what the English catch-all \u201cbut\u201d expresses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But don\u2019t panic! Learning the distinctions between these similar words is easy with a bit of practice. All you have to do is learn the words for “but,” “but rather” and “except” in Spanish.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“But” in Spanish: Pero, Sino<\/em> and Excepto<\/i> \/ Salvo<\/i> \/\u00a0Menos<\/i><\/h2>\n

Sure, it’s a little more complicated than in English with five “but” word choices, but if you learn the individual meaning of these five words, you’ll have “but” in Spanish under your belt (so to speak).<\/p>\n

Pero<\/em>:<\/em> the Big \u201cBut\u201d<\/h3>\n

Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>But<\/p>\n

Pero<\/i> is the most common way to say \u201cbut\u201d in Spanish.<\/p>\n

And fortunately, it\u2019s easy to master: Simply put, pero<\/i> is used when the second part of the sentence doesn’t contradict the first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To illustrate this point, let\u2019s take this English sentence:<\/p>\n

I have dogs, but I don’t have cats.<\/p>\n

The first part of the sentence establishes the fact that you have dogs and the second part does nothing to challenge this statement because having a dog or having a cat aren’t mutually exclusive. Therefore, the sentence in Spanish would be:<\/p>\n

Tengo perros, <\/i>pero<\/strong> no tengo gatos<\/i>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Still a bit confused? We\u2019ll let you in on a little cheat: If you can replace \u201cbut\u201d in English by breaking the sentence into two and starting the second with \u201chowever,\u201d<\/strong> then you should use pero<\/i> in Spanish.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look back at our original example. \u201cI have dogs, but I don\u2019t have cats\u201d can be rephrased as \u201cI have dogs. However, I don\u2019t have cats\u201d and retain its original meaning. Therefore, pero<\/i> makes sense in the Spanish translation.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more sentences with\u00a0pero:<\/em><\/p>\n

Me gusta la paella, pero<\/strong>\u00a0a \u00e9l no.<\/em> \u00a0<\/em>\u2014\u00a0I like the paella, but<\/strong> he doesn’t.<\/p>\n

Tiene clase ma\u00f1ana, pero<\/strong> no va a ir.<\/em> \u00a0\u2014 He has class tomorrow, but<\/strong> he’s not going to go.<\/p>\n

Queremos ir a Puerto Rico, pero<\/strong> no tenemos suficiente dinero. <\/em> \u2014 We want to go to Puerto Rico, but<\/strong> we don’t have enough money.<\/p>\n

Sino<\/em>: For Making Contradictions<\/h3>\n

Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>But rather<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve made a hobby out of correcting other people, then you\u2019re going to love sino<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Though they both translate to \u201cbut,\u201d\u00a0sino<\/i> functions very differently from pero.<\/i>\u00a0Whereas pero <\/i>is used when the second part of the sentence doesn’t\u00a0contradict the first, sino<\/i> is used when a contradiction exists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at an example:<\/p>\n

No estoy en Uruguay, sino<\/strong> <\/i>Paraguay<\/i><\/a>.<\/em> \u2014 I’m not in Uruguay, but<\/strong> Paraguay.<\/p>\n

Sino<\/i> is used in this sentence because the fact that you’re in Paraguay means that you’re not in Uruguay. Here, the second part of the sentence (bring in Paraguay) negates the first (being in Uruguay).<\/p>\n

Just like the \u201chowever\u201d trick with pero<\/i>,<\/em> there\u2019s a shortcut you can use with sino,<\/i> as well: If the word \u201cbut\u201d can be replaced by \u201cbut rather\u201d in the English sentence,<\/strong> then you should use sino<\/i> in the corresponding Spanish sentence.<\/p>\n

Since the English sentence above can be logically changed to \u201cI’m not in Uruguay, but rather<\/strong> Paraguay,\u201d the Spanish translation makes sense.<\/p>\n

Now, are you ready for a twist?<\/p>\n

Sino<\/i> is only used when \u201cbut\u201d is followed by a noun or non-conjugated verb.<\/strong> If there\u2019s a conjugated verb in there, sino<\/i> changes to sino que<\/i>. <\/strong> But don\u2019t worry, all of our rules about\u00a0sino<\/i>\u00a0still apply with sino que<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Ready for an example?<\/p>\n

No caminaron, sino que<\/strong> corrieron<\/i>.<\/em> \u00a0\u2014 They didn\u2019t walk, but<\/strong>\u00a0they ran.<\/p>\n

Sino<\/i> is used here because the fact that they ran means they couldn’t have walked. And since corrieron<\/i> is a conjugated verb<\/a>, the word\u00a0que <\/i>is added after sino<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Before we move on, there\u2019s one more use of sino<\/i> and sino que<\/i> you should know about: The English structure \u201cNot only x<\/i>,<\/em> but also y<\/i>\u201d<\/em> is rendered in Spanish as \u201c<\/strong>No solo x, sino y tambi\u00e9n.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

No solo hablo espa\u00f1ol, sino<\/strong> franc\u00e9s tambi\u00e9n<\/i>. <\/em> \u2014 I speak not only Spanish, but<\/strong> also French.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at some more sentences with\u00a0sino:<\/em><\/p>\n

No somos de Los \u00c1ngeles, sino<\/strong> de Nueva York.<\/em> \u00a0\u2014 We’re not from Los Angeles, but rather<\/strong> New York.<\/p>\n

No salta, sino que<\/strong> vuela.<\/em> \u2014 It doesn’t jump, but rather<\/strong> flies.<\/p>\n

No solo tiene pan tostado, sino<\/strong> huevos tambi\u00e9n.<\/em> \u00a0<\/em>\u2014 He doesn’t just have toast, but<\/strong> eggs too.<\/p>\n

Excepto \/<\/em>\u00a0Salvo \/<\/i>\u00a0Menos<\/i>: For Making Exceptions<\/h3>\n

Meaning:\u00a0<\/strong>Except<\/p>\n

Excepto<\/i>, salvo<\/i>\u00a0and menos<\/i> can all be used when stating exceptions to a general rule.<\/strong> In other words, they\u2019re a lot like the English \u201cexcept.\u201d<\/p>\n

In English, \u201cbut\u201d and \u201cexcept\u201d act as synonyms in many cases. When this happens, excepto, salvo<\/em>\u00a0and menos<\/em> all work.\u00a0Though these three words have other definitions as well, they can all be used to mean “but” with no difference in meaning.<\/p>\n

To drive this point home, let\u2019s try translating this sentence into Spanish:<\/p>\n

Everyone but<\/strong> Jorge said yes.<\/p>\n

Since \u201cbut\u201d can be replaced by \u201cexcept\u201d and still make sense, we can use excepto, salvo<\/em>\u00a0or menos.<\/em> We therefore have three possible ways to write this sentence:<\/p>\n

Todos excepto<\/strong> Jorge dijeron que s\u00ed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Todos salvo<\/strong> Jorge dijeron que s\u00ed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Todos menos<\/strong> Jorge dijeron que s\u00ed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are a few more examples that can use any one of these words:<\/p>\n

Nos gustan todos los animales excepto<\/strong> los chanchos.<\/em> \u2014 We like all the animals but the pigs.<\/p>\n

Han ido a cada estado salvo<\/strong> Nevada.<\/em> \u00a0\u2014 They have been to every state but Nevada.<\/p>\n

Tengo tiempo libre cada d\u00eda menos<\/strong> el martes.<\/em> \u00a0\u2014 I have free time every day but Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Quiz Yourself: Choose the Correct “But” in Spanish<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve covered a lot of ways to say the word \u201cbut.\u201d Are you ready to practice all these new words and expressions at the same time?<\/p>\n

Choose the right Spanish “but” in this multiple choice quiz:<\/p>\n