Expressing "not… but…" with "er shi"

Sometimes you want to explain that an object, concept, or event isn't one thing, but in fact a different thing. This is the perfect structure to convey that in Chinese.

Structure

"不是⋯⋯， (而)是⋯⋯" (bùshì..., (ér)shì...) is used to clarify something about a certain noun. What's being clarified can be noun phrases or verb phrases.

Subj. + 不是 + Noun 1 ， (而)是 + Noun 2

or

Subj. + 不是 + [Verb Phrase 1] ， (而)是 + [Verb Phrase 2]

An easy way to remember this pattern is that it roughly corresponds to the English, "Something is not X, it's Y."

Examples

• 他 不是 中国人，是 美国人 。Tā bù shì Zhōngguó rén, shì Měiguó rén.He isn't Chinese, he's American.
• 这个 大楼 不是 公寓，是 办公楼 。Zhège dàlóu bù shì gōngyù, shì bàngōnglóu.This building isn't an apartment building, it's an office building.
• 那 不是 一 个 问题 ，而是 一 个 机会 。Nà bù shì yī gè wèntí, érshì yī gè jīhuì.That isn't a problem, it's an opportunity.
• 重要 的 不是 你 的 外表 ，而是 你 的 内心 。Zhòngyào de bù shì nǐ de wàibiǎo, érshì nǐ de nèixīn.What's important is not how you look outside, it's your inside.
• 我 不是 故意 的 ，是 不 小心 。Wǒ bù shì gùyì de, shì bù xiǎoxīn.I didn't mean to, it's an innocent mistake.
• 你 这样 做 不是 帮 他 ，是 害 他 。Nǐ zhèyàng zuò bù shì bāng tā, shì hài tā.You were not helping him by doing this, you're hurting him.
• 我 帮 你 不是 想 让 你 感谢 我 ，而是 想 跟 你 做 朋友 。Wǒ bāng nǐ bù shì xiǎng ràng nǐ gǎnxiè wǒ, érshì xiǎng gēn nǐ zuò péngyou.The reason why I helped you is not to make you grateful to me, but to be friends with you.
• 我们 不是 来 玩 的，是 来 工作 的 。Wǒmen bù shì lái wán de, shì lái gōngzuò de.We're not here to play, we're here to do our job.
• 他 不是 不 喜欢 你 ，是 跟 你 还不 熟 。Tā bù shì bù xǐhuan nǐ, shì gēn nǐ hái bù shóu.It's not that he doesn't like you, it's just he's unacquainted with you.
• 生活 中 不是 缺少 美 ，而是 缺少 发现 美 的 眼睛 。Shēnghuó zhōng bù shì quēshǎo měi, érshì quēshǎo fāxiàn měi de yǎnjing.Beauty is found everywhere. To our eyes, it is not a lack of beauty but a lack of discovery.

See also

• Expressing "not… but rather…" with "er shi"
• "On the contrary" with "fan'er"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (p. 277) →buy

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