Level 4 · Upper Intermediate
Pushing back with 并不/并没有
并 + 不 / 没(有) + Verb · Traditional: 並 + 不 / 沒(有) + Verb
并 (bìng) in front of 不 or 没 strengthens the negation into a correction: 我并没有生气 "I'm not actually angry (contrary to what you think)". Plain 不/没 just states a fact; 并不/并没 pushes back against an expectation someone has.
Because of that, it needs an expectation to push against — it often follows 其实 "actually" or answers an accusation. 并 only attaches to 不 and 没; it never sits in front of a bare verb.
Examples
这个菜看起来很辣，其实并不辣。
這個菜看起來很辣，其實並不辣。
zhè ge cài kàn qǐ lai hěn là qí shí bìng bù là
This dish looks spicy, but actually it isn't.
我并没有生气，你别担心。
我並沒有生氣，你別擔心。
wǒ bìng méi yǒu shēng qì nǐ bié dān xīn
I'm not actually angry — don't worry.
他说他会来，但是他并没有来。
他說他會來，但是他並沒有來。
tā shuō tā huì lái dàn shì tā bìng méi yǒu lái
He said he'd come, but he never did.
我并不喜欢喝咖啡。
我並不喜歡喝咖啡。
wǒ bìng bù xǐ huan hē kā fēi
I don't actually like coffee.
Common mistakes
✗ 他不并喜欢这个电影。
✓ 他并不喜欢这个电影。
并 goes before 不/没, never after.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: The Dream Creator: The Story of Walt Disney · The Origin of Airbnb — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
