However — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession)

by contrast; on the other hand

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/haʊˈɛvɚ/

🇬🇧British English

/hˈaɪmənˌiəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/hˈaɪmənˌiəl/

3 syllables Say it as /haʊˈɛvɚ/.

Examples

although I'm a little afraid, however I'd like to try it
while we disliked each other, nevertheless we agreed
he was a stern yet fair master

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

even so still all the same withal nonetheless notwithstanding nevertheless yet

Parts of Speech

adverb	despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession) “although I'm a little afraid, however I'd like to try it”
adverb	by contrast; on the other hand “the first part was easy; the second, however, took hours”
adverb	to whatever degree or extent “The results, however general, are important”
adverb	in whatever way or manner “Victory, however it was brought about, was sweet”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Jedoch

trotz allem Gegenteil (normalerweise nach einem Zugeständnis)

🇫🇷French

cependant

malgré tout le contraire (généralement suite à une concession)

🇪🇸Spanish

sin embargo

a pesar de cualquier disposición en contrario (generalmente después de una concesión)

🇮🇹Italian

Tuttavia

nonostante qualsiasi cosa contraria (di solito a seguito di una concessione)

🇳🇱Dutch

Echter

ondanks alles wat het tegendeel beweert (meestal na een concessie)

🇵🇹Portuguese

no entanto

apesar de qualquer coisa em contrário (geralmente após uma concessão)

🇷🇺Russian

однако

несмотря ни на что (обычно после уступки)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तथापि

इसके विपरीत कुछ भी होने के बावजूद (आमतौर पर रियायत का पालन करते हुए)

🇧🇩Bengali

যাইহোক

বিপরীত কিছু সত্ত্বেও (সাধারণত একটি ছাড় অনুসরণ করে)

🇮🇳Tamil

எனினும்

மாறாக ஏதேனும் இருந்தாலும் (பொதுவாக ஒரு சலுகையைப் பின்பற்றி)

🇮🇳Telugu

అయితే

ఏదైనా విరుద్ధంగా ఉన్నప్పటికీ (సాధారణంగా రాయితీని అనుసరించడం)

🇮🇳Marathi

तथापि

विरुद्ध काहीही असूनही (सामान्यतः सवलतीचे अनुसरण करणे)

🇮🇳Gujarati

જો કે

વિપરીત કંઈપણ હોવા છતાં (સામાન્ય રીતે છૂટને અનુસરીને)

🇮🇳Kannada

ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ

ಏನಾದರೂ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ (ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ರಿಯಾಯಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಿ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

എങ്കിലും

വിപരീതമായി എന്തെങ്കിലും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നിട്ടും (സാധാരണയായി ഒരു ഇളവ് പിന്തുടരുന്നു)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਹਾਲਾਂਕਿ

ਇਸਦੇ ਉਲਟ ਕੁਝ ਵੀ ਹੋਣ ਦੇ ਬਾਵਜੂਦ (ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਰਿਆਇਤ ਦੀ ਪਾਲਣਾ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋਏ)

🇵🇰Urdu

تاہم

اس کے برعکس کچھ ہونے کے باوجود (عام طور پر رعایت کے بعد)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

然而

尽管有任何相反的情况（通常是在做出让步之后）

🇯🇵Japanese

しかし

それとは反対のことにもかかわらず（通常は譲歩に従って）

🇰🇷Korean

하지만

반대에도 불구하고 (보통 양보에 따라)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

Tuy nhiên

bất chấp mọi điều ngược lại (thường là sau một sự nhượng bộ)

🇹🇭Thai

อย่างไรก็ตาม

แม้จะมีข้อขัดแย้งอะไรก็ตาม (มักจะเป็นไปตามสัมปทาน)

🇮🇩Indonesian

Namun

meskipun ada yang sebaliknya (biasanya setelah konsesi)

🇵🇭Filipino

gayunpaman

sa kabila ng anumang bagay na salungat (karaniwan ay sumusunod sa isang konsesyon)

🇲🇾Malay

walau bagaimanapun

walaupun ada perkara yang bertentangan (biasanya mengikut konsesi)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

لكن

على الرغم من أي شيء مخالف (عادة بعد الامتياز)

🇮🇷Persian

با این حال

با وجود هر چیزی برعکس (معمولاً به دنبال یک امتیاز)

🇹🇷Turkish

Yine de

aksi yöndeki herhangi bir şeye rağmen (genellikle bir tavizin ardından)

🇮🇱Hebrew

אוּלָם

למרות כל דבר אחר (בדרך כלל בעקבות ויתור)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'however'?

The primary meaning of 'however' is 'despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'however' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'however' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'however' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'however' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'however' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'however' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'however' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'however' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'however' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'however' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted