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. 不是⋯⋯, (而)是⋯⋯ (bùshì..., (ér)shì...) is the perfect structure to convey that in Chinese. This is a useful phrase to use in arguments to overturn a point of view and state the opposite.

Structure

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

Examples

我觉得这不是麻烦，而是机会。 Wǒ juéde zhè bùshì máfan, érshì jīhuì. I don't think it's a hassle. I think it's an opportunity.
她不是不想买，而是买不起。 Tā bù shì bù xiǎng mǎi, ér shì mǎi bu qǐ. It's not that she doesn't want to buy it, it's that she can't afford it.
我没说不是想骗你，而是怕你不高兴。 Wǒ méi shuō bù shì xiǎng piàn nǐ, ér shì pà nǐ bù gāoxìng. 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.
我不是八卦，是关心你。 Wǒ bù shì bāguà, shì guānxīn nǐ. I'm not gossiping. I'm concerned about you.
我不是不想帮你，而是没有能力帮你。 Wǒ bù shì bù xiǎng bāng nǐ, ér shì méiyǒu nénglì bāng nǐ. 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。 Zhòngyào de bù shì nǐ de wàibiǎo, ér shì nǐ de nèixīn. 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。 Shēnghuó zhōng bù shì quēshǎo měi, ér shì quēshǎo fāxiàn měi de yǎnjing. It's not that life is lacking in beauty, but rather that we lack eyes that discover it.

You can also put 不是 in the second half. Note that 而 can't be used in this case.

Some examples:

我们是来办事的，不是来玩的。 Wǒmen shì lái bànshì de, bù shì lái wán de. We're here to do our job, not to have fun.
你这样做是害他，不是帮他。 Nǐ zhèyàng zuò shì hài tā, bù shì bāng tā. By doing this you were hurting him, not helping him.
不好意思，我是不小心，不是故意的。 Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ shì bù xiǎoxīn, bù shì gùyì de. I'm sorry. It was an accident. It wasn't on purpose.

Expressing "not… but…" with "er shi"

Contents

Structure

Examples

Some examples:

See also

Sources and further reading

Books