而非

érfēi

conjunction #17,219

Meanings

1 rather than
2 and not
3 instead of

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

我们需要的是行动而非空谈。

Wǒmen xūyào de shì xíngdòng érfēi kōngtán.

What we need is action, not empty talk.

HSK 5

这是事实而非猜测。

Zhè shì shìshí érfēi cāicè.

This is fact, not speculation.

Tips

register

而非 is literary/formal. In everyday speech, 而不是 is more common. 而非 appears frequently in written Chinese, journalism, and academic texts.

Stroke Order

而 ér

非 fēi