TongTong
Sign in

不但 (bù dàn) — not only (paired with 还 / 也 in the pattern 不但…还… to mean 'not only… but also…')

Definition

Bùdàn pairs with 还 or 也 to mean 'not only… but also…'. It is the more common, spoken choice; 不仅 is its formal/written counterpart, and 而且 is just the second half of the pair.

conjunction
not only (paired with 还 / 也 in the pattern 不但…还… to mean 'not only… but also…')

Examples

  • 不但，。
    bù dàn Tā huì chàng gē, hái huì tiào wǔ.
    Not only can he sing, but he can also dance.
  • 不但，。
    Zhè běn shū bù dàn yǒu yì si, yě hěn yǒu yòng.
    This book is not only interesting, but also useful.
  • 不但，。
    Tā bù dàn cōng ming, ér qiě hěn nǔ lì.
    She is not only smart, but also very hardworking.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
但dànonly

不 negates 但 (only), giving 'not only' for the first part of a pair.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn但dàn
Same sound today

但 pairs 亻, a person, with 旦, which gives its sound.

Open 但 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 4

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.