话说回来

話說回來
huà shuō huílái
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 but then again
  2. 2 on the other hand
  3. 3 having said that

Examples

HSK 4
Huàshuō huílái, zhè jiàn shì yě bù quán guài nǐ.
Then again, this isn't entirely your fault either.
HSK 6
Tā quèshí yǒudiǎn lǎn, bùguò huàshuō huílái, gōngzuò wánchéng de hái bùcuò.
He's a bit lazy, but having said that, he gets the work done pretty well.

Tips

usage
A discourse marker that walks back or qualifies what you just said, very common in conversation. Often paired with 不过 or : 不过话说回来…, 但话说回来…. Its near-twin 话又说回来 means almost the same thing - both signal 'switching to the other side of the argument'.

Stroke Order

huà
shuō
huí
lái