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.
• 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.
• 这 个 大楼 不是 公寓，是 办公楼 。Zhè gè dàlóu bù shì gōngyù, shì bàngōnglóu.This building isn't an apartment building, it's an office building.

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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