“虽然suī rán ……但是dàn shì ……” means” although……”, 虽然means “although”, 但是means “but”, however in Chinese, 虽然and 但是are often used in combination to indicate the admission of a certain fact then turning to the main idea. 虽然occurs in the subordinate clause，但是in the main clause.

Tips：

1) 但是can be changed into 但dàn or 可是kě shì or 不过bú guò.

2) 虽然can be used either before or after the subject of the subordinate clause, but 但是is often used before the subject of the main clause.

3) 虽然and 但是are generally used in pairs. But when adversative meaning is not particularly emphasized, 但是is often used alone in the main clause. In the case of the main clause preceding the subordinate, one can only use 虽然in the subordinate clause. 但是can never be used at the same time in the main clause. For example:

他不知道今天有聚会，但是他来了。
tā bù zhī dào jīn tiān yǒu jù huì ，dàn shì tā lái le 。
He didn’t know we have a party today, but he came.

他来上班了，虽然他病了。
tā lái shàng bān le ， suī rán tā bìng le 。
Although he was sick, he still came to work.

Examples:

他虽然年轻，不过他很有经验。
tā suī rán nián qīng ，bú guò tā hěn yǒu jīng yàn 。
Young though he is, he is quite experienced.

虽然他很努力，但他考试没有及格。
suī rán tā hěn nǔ lì ， dàn tā kǎo shì méi yǒu jí gé 。
Although he worked hard, he failed in the exam.

虽然她很喜欢这件裙子，但是她买不起。
suī rán tā hěn xǐ huan zhè jiàn qún zi，dàn shì tā mǎi bù qǐ 。
Although she likes this dress very much, she can’t afford it.

Notes