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- {{Grammar Box}}
- 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.
- <div class="jiegou">
- Subj. + 不是 + Noun 1 ， (而)是 + Noun 2
- </div>
- or
- <div class="jiegou">
- Subj. + 不是 + [Verb Phrase 1] ， (而)是 + [Verb Phrase 2]
- </div>
- An easy way to remember this pattern is that it roughly corresponds to the English, "Something is not X, it's Y."
- == Examples ==
- <div class="liju">
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- *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>
- </div>
- ==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) [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]
- [[Category:B1 grammar points]]
- {{Basic Grammar|不是|B1|不是⋯⋯ 是⋯⋯|<em>不 是</em> 问题，<em>是</em> 机会。|grammar point|ASGT9WYR}}
- {{Rel char|是}}
- {{Rel char|不}}
- {{Similar|"On the Contrary" with "fan'er"}}
- {{Similar|"Not... But Rather..." with "er shi"}}
- {{Structure|Sentence Patterns}}
- {{Used for|Giving alternatives}}
- {{Used for|Contrasting}}
- {{Used for|Differentiating}}
- {{Translation|not}}
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