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不是…而是…

Not…, but (rather)…

HSK 4HSK 3.0 · 4

(S) + 不是 + A，而是 + B

不是A，而是B rejects a wrong interpretation and gives the correct one: 我不是不想去，而是没有时间 'it's not that I don't want to go, it's that I have no time'. A and B should be parallel (both nouns, both verb phrases). The second part uses 而是, not 但是 or 而且. Don't confuse it with 不是A就是B 'either A or B': 他周末不是看书就是看电影.

HSK 4–5 gap fills and comprehension (finding the main point).

Examples

  • 我不是不想去，而是没有时间。

    It's not that I don't want to go; I just don't have time.

  • 他不是中国人，而是新加坡人。

    He isn't Chinese; he's Singaporean.

  • 成功的关键不是聪明，而是努力。

    The key to success isn't intelligence but hard work.

  • 我们今天不是去看电影，而是去看京剧。

    Today we're not going to a movie but to a Peking opera.

Exercises

  1. 1.他不是不努力， 方法不对。

  2. 2.我 不喜欢他，而是不太了解他。

  3. 3.周末他不是看书， 看电影，没有别的爱好。

  4. 4.Choose the correct sentence:

More grammar points