不但 — not only

不但

búdàn

not only

conjunction · HSK 3 · topic “Leisure, sports, culture”

How to pronounce it

不但 is read bú dàn: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

bú — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

dàn — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

不

bù — not, no

Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.

但

dàn — but

On the left, 亻 “person”.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “不但”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 不但. Tap the sound icon to listen.

她不但聪明，而且努力。tābúdàncōngming,érqiěnǔlìShe's not only smart but also hard-working.
他不但不帮忙，还批评别人。tābúdànbùbāngmáng,háipīpíngbiérénNot only does he not help, he even criticizes others.
他不但不生气反而笑了tābúdànbùshēngqì,fǎn’érxiàoleFar from getting angry, he laughed instead.

More words from the lesson “Not only, but also”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

What does 不但 mean?

不但 (búdàn) means “not only”.

How do you write 不但?

不但 is 2 characters: 不 (bù) — not, no; 但 (dàn) — but. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 不但?

不但 is read búdàn. Tones: bú — second tone, dàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“not only” in the lesson “Not only, but also”

This word is from the topic “Leisure, sports, culture” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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