taču

From earlier (18th-century) tadšu, from the adverb tad (“then”) and an old particle *-šu, found also as the second element in jebšu, kauču (< kaut + šu), from earlier *-šau, from *-tyau. Cognates include Lithuanian tačiaũ.^[1]

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taču

1. but, but also; adversative conjunction, used to express strong opposition or contrast, with a nuance of surprise, inconsistency or contradiction, in various syntactic contexts:

   (a) between sentence elements at the same level:

   briesmīgas ir domas, kādas Nadīna domā par Jurģi... briesmīgas, taču... patiesas ― terrible were the thoughts that Nadīna thought about Jurģis... terrible, but... true

   mazā sanitāra pavēli zināja, taču bija izmanījusies neaizbraukt ― the small sanitary (detachment) knew the order (to leave), but had decided not to leave

   Adži ir viltīgs; viņš bezgala mīl Odesu, mīl Tbilisi, taču nekad nesāks klaji slavēt tās ― Adži is cunning; he loves (the cities of) Odessa and Tbilisi very much, but he would never openly praise them

   (b) between coordinate clauses in a complex sentence

   cilvēka iedarbība uz dabu sākās jau ar cilvēka tapšanu, taču cilvēka attīstības pirmsākuma laikā šī ietekme bija gandrīz nemanāma ― human effects on the environment began already with the appearance of humans, but during the initial stages of human development their influence was almost imperceptible

   rudens vējš nav sevišķi maigs, taču zēns, Daiņa jaunākais dēls, norūdījies ― the autumn wind was not particularly mild, but the boy, Dainis' youngest son, was well seasoned

   Nikolajs uzmanīgi skatās, taču viņa palīdzības šoreiz nevajag ― Nikolajs watched carefullyl, but his help was not necessary this time

   (c) between a sentence and the preceding context

   Bērni tomēr bija aizgājuši. Trīs dienas viņus neredzēja. Taču ceturtās dienas novakarē viņi izkāpa no autobusa, kam pie liepas bija pietura ― The children, however, had left. For three days he didn't see them. But in the evening of the fourth day they got off the bus, which had a stop near the linden tree

taču

1. particle used to reinforce or emphasize a certain word or idea, usually by reducing doubts about it; but... (really), surely, just

   tu taču saproti... ― surely you understand (that...)

   viņš taču nevarēja citādi ― but he really couldn't (act) differently (= that was his only option)

   nav taču svētdiena, kad laika diezgan ― but it isn't Sunday, when there is enough time (= there is no time for this now)

   atnācējs viesa Oskarā sajūsmu... nu taču bija cilvēks, ar ko varēja parunāties ― the (new)comer (was) a delight (to) Oskar... but (that one) was really a person with whom one could talk

   neaizmirstiet taču, ka šeit ir jaunatnes zeme! ― but don't forget that this is the land of youth!

In Latvian, both taču and bet correspond to English but, bet corresponding to cases of weaker opposition or simultaneity ("while..."), and taču to cases of stronger opposition, contradiction ("but..."). In other words, taču and bet correspond in usage to Russian но (no) and a, respectively.

• bet
• tomēr