非但

fēidàn
conjunction #37,199

Meanings

  1. 1 not only
  2. 2 not merely (often paired with 而且 / 还 / 反而)

Examples

Tā fēidàn méi shēngqì, fǎn'ér xiàole.
Not only did he not get angry, he actually laughed.
Zhè zhǒng zuòfǎ fēidàn bù néng jiějué wèntí, hái huì ràng shìqing gèng zāo.
This approach not only fails to solve the problem, it will make things worse.

Tips

usage
非但 is a slightly more formal/literary equivalent of 不但. It almost always pairs with a stronger contrastive correlative — 反而 (on the contrary), (and even / also), or 而且 — to mark an unexpected or escalating second clause. Plain 不但 can stand alone more often; 非但 normally needs the second half.
mistakes
非但 strongly prefers a contrast or escalation in the second clause, so it sounds odd when used for a flat 'A and also B' that 不但... would handle. If the second clause is simply additional info, prefer 不但...而且; reserve 非但 for cases where the second clause defies expectation.

Stroke Order

fēi
dàn