Expressing "would rather" with "ningke"

宁可 (nìngkě) is used when the speaker wants to compare two unfavorable options, and choose one over the other. We usually express this as "would rather... than..." in English.

Using 宁可 with 也不

Structure

This construction puts 宁可 at the beginning of the sentence followed by 也不. 宁可 is followed by the less unfavorable option and 也不 is followed by the most unfavorable option.

宁可⋯⋯ ，也不⋯⋯

Examples

• 我 宁可 没有 男朋友 ，也 不 要 随便 找 一 个 男朋友 。Wǒ nìngkě méiyǒu nán péngyǒu, yě bù yào suíbiàn zhǎo yī gè nánpéngyǒu.I'd rather have no boyfriend than find a random one.
• 我们 宁可 早到 也 不 要 迟到 。Wǒmen nìngkě zǎo dào yě bù yào chídào.We'd rather arrive early than late.
• 他 宁可 输 ，也 不 放弃 。Tā nìngkě shū, yě bù fàngqì.He'd rather lose than give up.
• 我 宁可 这个 月 少 花 一点 ，也 不 找 父母 要 钱 。Wǒ nìngkě zhège yuè shǎo huā yīdiǎn, yě bù zhǎo fùmǔ yào qián.I'd rather spend less money this month than ask my parents for money.
• 妈妈 宁可 把 这些 东西 送 给 陌生人 ，也 不 扔掉 。Māma nìngkě bǎ zhèxiē dōngxi sòng gěi mòshēngrén, yě bù rēngdiào.Mom would rather give these things to strangers than throw them away.

Using 宁可 with 也要

In this construction 宁可 is used a little differently. 宁可 is followed by unfavorable actions while 也要 is followed by things that you desire or something that you intend to achieve.

Structure

宁可 ⋯⋯ ，也要 ⋯⋯

Here the speaker must pay a price in order to complete or gain something, a bit like "even though X, I'm still willing to do Y."

Examples

• 我 宁可 熬夜 也 要 做完 。Wǒ nìngkě áoyè yě yào zuò wán.I'd rather stay up tonight just to finish it.
• 孩子们 宁可 不 吃饭 ，也 要 多 玩 一会儿 。Háizimen nìngkě bù chīfàn, yě yào duō wán yīhuǐr.The kids would rather not eat just to play a little longer.
• 他 宁可 和 女朋友 分手 ，也 要 留 在 国外 。Tā nìngkě hé nǚpéngyǒu fēnshǒu, yě yào liú zài guówài.He would rather break up with his girlfriend just to stay abroad.
• 她 宁可 花 一半 的 工资 租 房子 ，也 要 一个人 住 。Tā nìngkě huā yībàn de gōngzī zū fángzi, yě yào yī gè rén zhù.She would rather spend half of her salary just to live alone.
• 我 宁可 坐 三十 个 小时 的 硬座 ，也 要 回 老家。Wǒ nìngkě zuò sānshí gè xiǎoshí de yìngzuò, yě yào huí lǎojiā.I would rather sit in a hard seat for 30 hours if I can get home.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Upper Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语中级冲刺篇) (pp. 196) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) (pp. 180) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 84, 99) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• HSK Standard Course 5上 (pp. 145) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5