却是
què shì · HSK 6
actually
却 (yet/but) + 是 (is): but it IS so — nevertheless
却 adds a twist of but or yet, while 是 asserts is. Together they concede a contrary fact: but it actually IS the case. Que shi sounds like quest — the quest for what is really true.
却 — 去 (go) + 卩 (kneeling person)
Originally a phono-semantic compound with 卩 (a kneeling figure) suggesting retreat or yielding, and 去 providing the sound. The early sense was 'to step back' or 'reject,' which broadened into the modern meanings 'however' and 'but.' The seal-script form shows a person turning away.
是 — sun 日 + 正 (correct/upright)
Originally a compound suggesting 'the sun 日 directly overhead'—straight, correct, true. From this concrete sense of 'right' or 'this very thing,' 是 came to mean 'this' as a demonstrative, and later the modern copula 'to be / is.' The 'correct' meaning survives in words like 是非 (right and wrong).