Level 5 · Advanced
Would rather: 宁可…也不
宁可 + Lesser Evil，也不 + Rejected Option · Traditional: 寧可 + Lesser Evil，也不 + Rejected Option
宁可…也不 (nìngkě…yě bù) picks the lesser of two evils: 我宁可走路，也不想坐他的车 "I'd rather walk than ride in his car." What follows 宁可 isn't pleasant — it's just more bearable than the alternative.
Flip the second half to 也要 and the sacrifice serves a goal: 宁可少赚点钱，也要每天回家吃饭 "I'll happily earn a bit less if it means dinner at home every day." Its cousin 宁愿 works the same way.
Examples
我宁可走路，也不想坐他的车。
我寧可走路，也不想坐他的車。
wǒ nìng kě zǒu lù yě bù xiǎng zuò tā de chē
I'd rather walk than ride in his car.
她宁可加班，也不把工作带回家。
她寧可加班，也不把工作帶回家。
tā nìng kě jiā bān yě bù bǎ gōng zuò dài huí jiā
She'd rather work overtime than bring work home.
他宁可自己吃亏，也不愿意麻烦别人。
他寧可自己吃虧，也不願意麻煩別人。
tā nìng kě zì jǐ chī kuī yě bù yuàn yì má fan bié ren
He'd rather lose out himself than trouble anyone else.
宁可少赚点钱，也要每天回家吃饭。
寧可少賺點錢，也要每天回家吃飯。
nìng kě shǎo zhuàn diǎn qián yě yào měi tiān huí jiā chī fàn
Better to earn a little less and still have dinner at home every day.
Common mistakes
✗ 我宁可吃蛋糕。
✓ 我宁可饿着，也不吃他做的菜。
宁可 marks a tolerated sacrifice, so it needs its 也不/也要 half — for a simple preference, just say 我想吃蛋糕.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: The Story of Farmer Paavo — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
