でも

でも at the start of a sentence means "but". Finish the first sentence with its full stop, then open the next one with でも.

This is the everyday word for "but", in speech and in casual writing. Formal writing uses しかし.

Not in the middle of a sentence

でも cannot glue two halves into one sentence: ×この本は高いですでも、買いたいです. Inside a sentence, "but" is けど or が at the end of the first half.

Usage notes

These go beyond "but". After a noun or a question word, でも is a different word.

After a noun: "or something"

After a noun, でも offers the noun as one example, which makes an invitation or a suggestion sound relaxed. The particle を drops out.

After a question word: "any"

A question word plus でも means every possible answer is fine.

• なん何でも – anything
• だれでも誰でも – anyone
• どこでも – anywhere
• いつでも – any time
• どれでも – whichever one

After a noun: "even"

With an extreme example in front of it, でも means "even": if it holds for this case, it holds for the others too.

After a noun that names a situation, it is "even if it is".