Expressing "not only..., even..." using "budan..., shenzhi lian"

Think of the "不但……, 甚至连……也……" (bùdàn……shènzhì lián……yě……) structure as a cousin to the various "not only..., but also" structures. The only difference is that this structure uses 甚至连 (shènzhì lián) to express "not only..., but even."

Structure

Subj. + 不但 ⋯⋯ ，甚至连 + New Subject + 也 + Matching Situation

Examples

• 他 不但 不知道李连杰， 甚至连 成龙 也 不知道。Tā bùdàn bù zhīdào Lǐ Liánjié , shènzhì lián Chéng Lóng yě bù zhīdào..Not only does he not know Jet Li, he doesn't even know Jackie Chan.
• 妹妹 不但 喜欢 榴莲 这样 味道 重 的， 甚至连 臭豆腐 也 喜欢。Mèimei bùdàn xǐhuan liúlián zhèyàng wèidào zhòng de, shènzhì lián chòudòufu yě xǐhuan.My sister not only likes durian, which has a strong taste, but also stinky tofu.
• 你 男朋友 不但 帮 你 做好了 攻略 ， 甚至连 飞机票 也 帮 你 买好了 。Nǐ nánpéngyou bùdàn bāng nǐ zuò hǎo le gōnglüè, shènzhì lián fēijīpiào yě bāng nǐ mǎihǎo le.Your boyfriend not only helped you with your strategy, he even helped you buy your plane tickets.
• 在 家里 隔离的 时候， 不但 小区 出不去， 甚至连 家门 也 不 让 你 出去。Zài jiālǐ gélí de shíhou, bùdàn xiǎoqū chū bù qù, shènzhì lián jiāmén yě bù ràng nǐ chūqù.When you were isolated at home, you couldn't go out of your neighbourhood, and you weren't even allowed to leave your house.
• 我 回国 这件 事情， 不但 你 知道了， 甚至连 老板 也 知道了，但是 我 不想 让 老板 知道。Wǒ huíguó zhè jiàn shìqing, bùdàn nǐ zhīdào le, shènzhì lián lǎobǎn yě zhīdào le, dànshì wǒ bù xiǎng ràng lǎobǎn zhīdào.Not only did you know about my return to China, even my boss knew about it, but I didn't want him to know.
• 今天 参加 活动 的 人 很多，不但 有 同事， 甚至连 不 喜欢 参加 活动 的人 也 来 了。Jīntiān cānjiā huódòng de rén hěn duō, bùdàn yǒu tóngshì, shènzhì lián bù xǐhuan cānjiā huódòng de rén yě lái le.A lot of people attended the event today, not only colleagues, but even people who didn't like the event were here.
• 他 辞职 这件 事情 不但 公司 不 知道， 甚至连 他 的 父母 也 不知道。Tā cízhí zhè jiàn shìqing bùdàn gōngsī bù zhīdào, shènzhì lián tā de fùmǔ yě bù zhīdào.Not only did the company not know about his resignation, but even his parents did not know about it.
• 他 怎么 了？ 不但 心情 不好， 甚至连 饭 也 不 想 吃。Tā zěnme le? bùdàn xīnqíng bùhǎo, shènzhì lián fàn yě bù xiǎng chī.What happened to him? Not only was I in a bad mood, I didn't even want to eat.
• 我 不但 选 好 了 地址， 甚至连 奶茶 店 的 名字 也 想好了。Wǒ bùdàn xuǎn hǎo le dìzhǐ, shènzhì lián nǎichá diàn de míngzi yě xiǎng hǎo le.Not only have I chosen an address, I've even decided on the name of the milk tea shop.
• 在 节假日 的时候， 不但 景区 都是 人， 甚至连 路上 也 都是 人。 Zài jiéjiàrì de shíhòu, bùdàn jǐngqū dōu shì rén, shènzhì lián lùshang yě dōu shì rén.During the holidays, not only the scenic spots, but also the roads were full of people.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 268) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5