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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<title>Using "er" to explain contrasting ideas
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<h1>Using "er" to explain contrasting ideas</h1>

<p>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.</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 See Also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5 Sources and Further Reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.1 Books </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.2 Websites</span></li>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

<div class="deux">Sentence 1， + 而 + Sentence 2</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 今天 去 你 家 找 你 了，而 你 不 在 家。
I am going to your home to find you today, and you are not at home. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">孩子 发烧 很 严重，而 你 一点 都 不 关心。
Your child has a very hot fever,but you must not care. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 在 公司 很 受 欢迎，而 我 并 不 喜欢 她。
She is very popular at the company, but I don't like her.</span><br/></li>
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<p>As you can see, 而 comes between the two to heighten the contrast.</p>

<p>Frequently you'll see the pattern in one of these two more specific forms:
</p>
<div class="deux">不是……，而是……</div>
<p></p>
<div class="deux">是……，（而）不是……</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">以后 后悔 的 人 不 是 我，而 是 你 自己。
The regretful person isn't me. It's you. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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.</span><br/></li>
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<div class="deux">Subj. + 是⋯⋯ ，（而）不是⋯⋯</div>

<h3>Some examples:</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我们 是 来 办事 的 ，不是 来 玩 的 。
We're here to do our job, not to have fun. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 这样 做 是 害 他 ，不是 帮 他 。
By doing this you were hurting him, not helping him. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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.</span><br/></li>
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<h3>See Also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">"On the contrary" with "fan'er" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Conceding a point with "shi" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing "not only… but also" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Two words for "but" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Using "because" with "er" to indicate effect</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Sources and Further Reading</h3>

<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 343-4) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 128, 200) [ →buy] </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 277) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 20) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 516) →buy</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h4>Websites</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Usage of 而</span><br/></li>
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