Lo que pasa es que...

[try again]

Hola amigos!

I wanna know what this phrase "lo que pasa es que" means in english, and how it is used.

For example:
A: Te gusta Finland?
B: Me gusta mucho. Lo que pasa es que hace mucho frio.

So we can see here, is the phrase meaning "but", pointing out the down side? So it would be the same case in other situations too? More examples,plz?

[Olivier]

I think it is the kind of phrase that in fact means nothing and is just used to introduce what you really say, a bit like in English "the fact is that", "the thing is that".
-- Olivier

[ANTHOS]

I agree. Basically, it's used as a conversation "filler" or "padding" - it's very common in everyday speech.

[kokoyaya]

I do understand a kind of "but" in that expression.

[ANTHOS]

Yes, in this example it can be replaced by "but".

It's hard to think of a general rule.

I would say that it is generally used when
- you are about to give an explanation for something or give more detail about something
- and this something is usually negative.

So the translation depends on the exact context e.g. "but" or "the reason for this is"...

Some examples (I just made up!):

A: Puedes ayudarme esta tarde?
B: No puedo - lo que pasa es que tengo que terminar un otro trabajo para mañana.

A (al teléfono): Todavía no he recibido el diario de hoy.
B: Lo siento. Lo que pasa es que el repartidor se ha puesto enfermo y tengo que entregarlos yo.