HSK · Level 40
120 words
Chinese word
不光
Pronunciation
Pinyinbù guāng
Meaning
- adverbnot only
Example
他不光会唱歌，还会跳舞。tā bù guāng huì chàng gē hái huì tiào wǔ
He can not only sing, but also dance.
More examples
她不光会说汉语，而且会写汉字。tā bù guāng huì shuō hàn yǔ ér qiě huì xiě hàn zì
She can not only speak Chinese, but also write Chinese characters.
Core concept
A statement moves beyond one highlighted fact to add another fact or quality.
Common phrases
不光...而且bù guāng ér qiě
not only ___ but also
Similar words
不仅bù jǐn: Adds a further fact or quality to one already stated.
不但bú dàn: Shows that one point is not the whole situation and introduces an additional point.
不只bù zhǐ: Indicates that something covers more than one thing, fact, or quality.
不只是bù zhǐ shì: Indicates that several aspects apply rather than just one aspect.
Definition in Chinese
用于否定单一情况，表示不仅如此还存在其他事或特征，常与“还、也、而且、甚至”等连用，用以并列或递进地引出补充说明。yòng yú fǒu dìng dān yì qíng kuàng biǎo shì bù jǐn rú cǐ hái cún zài qí tā shì huò tè zhēng cháng yǔ hái yě ér qiě shèn zhì děng lián yòng yòng yǐ bìng liè huò dì jìn dì yǐn chū bǔ chōng shuō míng
Word origin
不光 (bùguāng, "not only") combines 不 (bù, "not") with 光 (guāng, "merely"), using 光 in its adverbial sense of limiting a statement to one thing.
Usage tips
- Unlike English not only, 不光 (bùguāng, "not only") does not require the subject-verb inversion used in some formal English constructions when the phrase comes first.