但...却

[laser2302]

Read this line:

古代人40多岁已是人生尾巴阶段，但现代人40多岁却正处日正当中。

In the last part of the sentence '但现代人40多岁却正处日正当中' --- 但 is followed by 却. Both of these words mean 'But' or does 却 has a different meaning, or is it some sort of a pattern of 但...却. I also see the same pattern in other sentences. I just don't understand why we put two 'buts' in the same sentence? Please help me understand that.

[JasonTsia]

Here, "却" means "..., on the contrary, ...".

[Etwood]

Yes, 却 means something like 'contrary to logical belief', so with 但, it sort of has the meaning of 'but contrary to popular belief'. Hope that helps!

[magudo]

usually i will say "古代人40多岁已是人生尾巴阶段，现代人40多岁却正处日正当中"

or "古代人40多岁已是人生尾巴阶段，但现代人40多岁正处日正当中"

I think use "但" and "却" in a same sentence is kind of wrong

[JasonTsia]

I can't see any wrong in sentence like "但现代人40多岁却正处日正当中". Of cause , you can say "现代人40多岁却正处日正当中" and "但现代人40多岁正处日正当中". But by adding "却" after "但"， you emphasize the contrast between the two parts. Similarly, you can say “然而...却..." , “而...却...".