Level 4 · Upper Intermediate
Not X but Y: 不是…而是…
不是 A，而是 B
不是…而是… corrects a wrong idea: "it's not A — it's B". 他不是老师，而是学生 "he's not a teacher, he's a student". The first half knocks down the assumption, 而是 delivers the truth.
Don't mix it up with 不是…就是… "either…or": 他每天不是工作，就是学习 "every day he's either working or studying" — there both things really happen, nothing is being corrected.
Examples
他不是老师，而是学生。
他不是老師，而是學生。
tā bù shì lǎo shī ér shì xué sheng
He's not a teacher — he's a student.
我不是不想去，而是没有时间。
我不是不想去，而是沒有時間。
wǒ bù shì bù xiǎng qù ér shì méi yǒu shí jiān
It's not that I don't want to go — I just don't have time.
这不是我的书，而是我朋友的。
這不是我的書，而是我朋友的。
zhè bù shì wǒ de shū ér shì wǒ péng you de
This isn't my book — it's my friend's.
问题不是钱，而是时间。
問題不是錢，而是時間。
wèn tí bù shì qián ér shì shí jiān
The problem isn't money — it's time.
Common mistakes
✗ 他每天不是工作，而是学习。
✓ 他每天不是工作，就是学习。
"Either…or" is 不是…就是… — 而是 only corrects a wrong statement.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: Fox Borrows Tiger's Might — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
