The kanji 但 primarily conveys the meaning of "but," "however," "provided that," or "only." It often introduces a condition, exception, or reservation. It suggests a limitation or a qualification to a preceding statement.

・On-yomi (音読み): タン (tan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ただ (tada)

⚫︎ 但し、条件があります。 Translation: However, there are conditions. ⚫︎ 私は行きます、但し、無料なら。 Translation: I will go, but only if it's free. ⚫︎ 彼は優秀だ。但し、少し頑固だ。 Translation: He is excellent. However, he is a bit stubborn.

The kanji 但 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left part is the "person" radical (亻), representing a person. The right part is the character 旦 (dan), which originally meant "dawn" or "morning." The combination of the radical and the sound component suggests a specific person or a statement about a specific thing, and it implies a statement that is limited or qualified in some way. The addition of "person" radical (亻) emphasizes the personal nature of the condition or exception.