<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta name="generator" content= "HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" /> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>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.</p> <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2> <p>"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.</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Subj. + 不是 + Noun 1 ， (而)是 + Noun 2</p> </div> <p>or</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Subj. + 不是 + [Verb Phrase 1] ， (而)是 + [Verb Phrase 2]</p> </div> <p>An easy way to remember this pattern is that it roughly corresponds to the English, "Something is not X, it's Y."</p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>他 <em>不是</em> 中国人，<em>是</em> 美国人 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bù shì</em> Zhōngguó rén, <em>shì</em> Měiguó rén.</span><span class="trans">He isn't Chinese, he's American.</span></li> <li>这个 大楼 <em>不是</em> 公寓，<em>是</em> 办公楼 。<span class="pinyin">Zhège dàlóu <em>bù shì</em> gōngyù, <em>shì</em> bàngōnglóu.</span><span class="trans">This building isn't an apartment building, it's an office building.</span></li> <li>那 <em>不是</em> 一 个 问题 ，<em>而是</em> 一 个 机会 。<span class= "pinyin">Nà <em>bù shì</em> yī gè wèntí, <em>érshì</em> yī gè jīhuì.</span><span class="trans">That isn't a problem, it's an opportunity.</span></li> <li>重要 的 <em>不是</em> 你 的 外表 ，<em>而是</em> 你 的 内心 。<span class= "pinyin">Zhòngyào de <em>bù shì</em> nǐ de wàibiǎo, <em>érshì</em> nǐ de nèixīn.</span><span class="trans">What's important is not how you look outside, it's your inside.</span></li> <li>我 <em>不是</em> 故意 的 ，<em>是</em> 不 小心 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bù shì</em> gùyì de, <em>shì</em> bù xiǎoxīn.</span><span class="trans">I didn't mean to, it's an innocent mistake.</span></li> <li>你 这样 做 <em>不是</em> 帮 他 ，<em>是</em> 害 他 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zhèyàng zuò <em>bù shì</em> bāng tā, <em>shì</em> hài tā.</span><span class="trans">You were not helping him by doing this, you're hurting him.</span></li> <li>我 帮 你 <em>不是</em> 想 让 你 感谢 我 ，<em>而是</em> 想 跟 你 做 朋友 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bāng nǐ <em>bù shì</em> xiǎng ràng nǐ gǎnxiè wǒ, <em>érshì</em> xiǎng gēn nǐ zuò péngyou.</span><span class="trans">The reason why I helped you is not to make you grateful to me, but to be friends with you.</span></li> <li>我们 <em>不是</em> 来 玩 的，<em>是</em> 来 工作 的 。<span class= "pinyin">Wǒmen <em>bù shì</em> lái wán de, <em>shì</em> lái gōngzuò de.</span><span class="trans">We're not here to play, we're here to do our job.</span></li> <li>他 <em>不是</em> 不 喜欢 你 ，<em>是</em> 跟 你 还不 熟 。<span class= "pinyin">Tā <em>bù shì</em> bù xǐhuan nǐ, <em>shì</em> gēn nǐ hái bù shóu.</span><span class="trans">It's not that he doesn't like you, it's just he's unacquainted with you.</span></li> <li>生活 中 <em>不是</em> 缺少 美 ，<em>而是</em> 缺少 发现 美 的 眼睛 。<span class= "pinyin">Shēnghuó zhōng <em>bù shì</em> quēshǎo měi, <em>érshì</em> quēshǎo fāxiàn měi de yǎnjing.</span><span class="trans">Beauty is found everywhere. To our eyes, it is not a lack of beauty but a lack of discovery.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href= "Expressing_"not%E2%80%A6_but_rather%E2%80%A6"_with_"er_shi"" title="wikilink">Expressing "not… but rather…" with "er shi"</a></li> <li><a href=""On_the_contrary"_with_"fan'er"" title="wikilink">"On the contrary" with "fan'er"</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2> <h3 id="books">Books</h3> <ul> <li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_1" title= "wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1</a> (p. 277) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276792/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276792"> →buy</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title= "wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a></p> </body> </html>