At a glance
けれども at the start of a sentence means "but" or "however". It shows that the second sentence contrasts with the first, or says something you would not expect after it.
A。けれども、B。
雨が降っています。けれども、出かけます。 It's raining. But I'm going out.
How to form it
けれども starts sentence B. Sentence A is a complete sentence that ends with 。.
| Part | What goes there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence A | A complete sentence, plain or polite (です/ます), present or past | 雨が降っています。 |
| けれども | Start of the next sentence, usually followed by a comma | けれども、 |
| Sentence B | The contrasting or unexpected statement | 出かけます。 |
| Version | Register |
|---|---|
| けれども | Neutral to slightly formal: polite speech and writing |
| だけど | Casual speech |