Grammar · Chapter 37
不是…而是: not A but B
不是 A，而是 B
To correct “not this, but that”: 不是 A，而是 B. “But” pulls toward 但是, but 但是 joins two facts (“pricey, but good”), while 而是 puts the right thing in place of the wrong one.
Examples
- 他不是老师而是学生。 Tā bú shì lǎoshī érshì xuésheng. He's not a teacher but a student.
- 我不是不想去，而是没有时间。 Wǒ bú shì bù xiǎng qù, érshì méiyǒu shíjiān. It's not that I don't want to go, I just don't have time.
- 问题不是钱，而是时间。 Wèntí bú shì qián, érshì shíjiān. The problem isn't money, it's time.