尽管……但……
Reach for 尽管...但... when you want to concede a fact and then push past it — 'even though X, Y still holds.' It's a slightly stronger, more formal cousin of 虽然...但是.... Common in writing, news, and any moment when you're acknowledging a real obstacle but signaling that the main point survives it. Treat it as concession with a firmer push-back.
Structure
尽管 [CONCESSION], 但 [MAIN POINT]
jǐnguǎn... dàn...
How to Think About It
尽管 = 'granted that, yes, fine.' 但 = 'and yet.' The first clause is the concession you're willing to admit out loud; the second is the punchline you really want to land. The pattern works best when the concession is genuinely strong — if it's a trivial point, 虽然 reads more natural. Keep both halves: dropping 但 makes the concession feel unresolved.
Examples
尽管工作很累, 但她从来不抱怨。
Jǐnguǎn gōngzuò hěn lèi, dàn tā cónglái bù bàoyuàn.
Even though the work is exhausting, she never complains.
尽管价格很贵, 但质量真的很好。
Jǐnguǎn jiàgé hěn guì, dàn zhìliàng zhēn de hěn hǎo.
Even though the price is high, the quality really is excellent.
尽管他失败了好几次, 但他没有放弃。
Jǐnguǎn tā shībài le hǎo jǐ cì, dàn tā méiyǒu fàngqì.
Even though he failed several times, he didn't give up.
Common Mistake
Learners mix 尽管 with 尽量 ('as much as possible') because they look identical and share a syllable. They also drop 但 thinking the meaning carries over from 尽管. Always keep 但 — without it, the sentence sounds like you forgot to finish your thought.
尽管下雨, 我们去爬山。
尽管下雨, 但我们还是去爬山了。
Don't Confuse With
虽然……但是……
Everyday version. Use 虽然...但是... in speech and casual writing. 尽管...但... feels written and slightly more emphatic about the concession.
即使……也……
Hypothetical, not factual: 'even if X (which may not happen), still Y.' 尽管 treats X as actually true; 即使 treats X as a hypothesis.
尽量
Looks similar but unrelated: 尽量 means 'as much as possible.' '尽量早点来' (come as early as you can). Different word, different grammar.
Practice
___ 天气不好, 但比赛还是按时开始了。
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尽管
尽管他很努力, ___ 还是没考上。
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但
Put in order: [尽管 / 但 / 累 / 我 / 很 / 坚持 / 下来 / 了]
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尽管很累, 但我坚持下来了。
Translate to Chinese: 'Even though it was raining, the match still went on.'
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尽管下着雨, 但比赛还是进行了。
Write one sentence about pushing through a difficulty, using 尽管...但....
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Example answer: 尽管中文很难, 但我每天都坚持学习。 (Even though Chinese is hard, I still study every day.)