HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
（不过/但/可是）话又说回来
话又说回来 — but then again
Pattern
+
after a finished sentence
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
话又说回来 turns the speaker's own argument around to admit the other side: "but then again…". It signals a fair-minded second thought, so what follows softens or qualifies what the speaker has just been insisting on.
Examples
他确实做错了。不过话又说回来，谁没犯过错呢？
Tā quèshí zuò cuò le. Búguò huà yòu shuō huílái, shéi méi fàn guo cuò ne?
He really was in the wrong. But then again, who hasn't made mistakes?
价格是贵，可话又说回来，质量确实好。
Jiàgé shì guì, kě huà yòu shuō huílái, zhìliàng quèshí hǎo.
It is expensive — though then again, the quality really is good.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, （不过/但/可是）话又说回来 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.