Using "er" to explain contrasting ideas

The conjunction 而 (ér) is used to connect two sentences that are related to each other, but talk about contrasting ideas or subjects. In this manner, it can be seen as a word meaning "but" or "rather." 而 is often used in a more formal or literary sense, but it is also common in everyday speech.

Structure

Sentence 1， + 而 + Sentence 2

Examples

• 我 今天 去 你 家 找 你 了，而 你 不 在 家。
• 孩子 发烧 很 严重，而 你 一点 都 不 关心。
• 她 在 公司 很 受 欢迎，而 我 并 不 喜欢 她。

As you can see, 而 comes between the two to heighten the contrast.

Frequently you'll see the pattern in one of these two more specific forms:

不是……，而是……

是……，（而）不是……

Examples

• 以后 后悔 的 人 不 是 我，而 是 你 自己。The regretful person isn't me. It's you.
• 现在 要 做 的 不 是 责怪 谁 错 了，而 是 怎么 解决。Now is not the time to accuse who did it wrong, but to figure out how to resolve it.
• 我 没 说 不 是 想 骗 你 ，而 是 怕 你 不 高兴 。The reason I didn't tell you isn't that I wanted to lie to you; it's that I was afraid you would be upset.
• 我 不 是 不 想 帮 你 ，而 是 没有 能力 帮 你 。It's not that I don't want to help you, it's that I have no ability to help you.
• 重要 的 不是 你 的 外表 ，而是 你 的 内心 。What's important is not how you look on the outside, but rather what's on the inside.
• 生活 中 不是 缺少 美 ，而是 缺少 发现 美 的 眼睛 。It's not that life is lacking in beauty, but rather that we lack eyes that discover it.

Subj. + 是⋯⋯ ，（而）不是⋯⋯

Some examples:

• 我们 是 来 办事 的 ，不是 来 玩 的 。We're here to do our job, not to have fun.
• 你 这样 做 是 害 他 ，不是 帮 他 。By doing this you were hurting him, not helping him.
• 不好意思 ，我 是 不 小心 ，不是 故意 的 。I'm sorry. It was an accident. It wasn't on purpose.

See Also

• Expressing "not only… but also"
• Two words for "but"
• Using "because" with "er" to indicate effect

Sources and Further Reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 343-4) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 128, 200) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Usage of 而