Pero vs. Sino
Pero vs. Sino
English's 'but' covers two logically different jobs at once. Spanish splits them into two words, and the difference hinges entirely on whether the first half of the sentence was negative.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Pero: 'but' after anything, adding a contrast
es caro, pero bueno (it's expensive, but good) — a simple contrast, first half can be positive or negative
it's expensive, but good — plain 'but'
Pero is the general-purpose 'but', used whenever you're adding a contrasting idea without directly contradicting or replacing the first part of the sentence. This is the default choice, and covers the vast majority of 'but' sentences you'll produce.
Sino: only after a negative, and only when directly replacing it
no es caro, sino barato (it's not expensive, but cheap) — sino directly swaps out 'expensive' for its replacement 'cheap'
it's not expensive, but cheap — still just 'but'
Sino is reserved for a specific structure: the first clause must be negative, and the second clause must directly correct or replace what was just negated, rather than merely contrasting with it. If you can rephrase the English sentence as 'not X, but rather Y', sino is correct; otherwise, pero is almost certainly what you want.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- but (general)
- English
- but rather (correction)
- English
- it's expensive, but good
- English
- it's not expensive, but cheap
- English
- I don't want coffee, but tea
- English
- but rather (before a full clause)
- English
- it wasn't him, but her
- English
- I want to go, but I can't
- English
- not only... but also
- English
- it's hard, but not impossible