Chinese word

并非

Pronunciation

Pinyinbìng fēi

Meaning

  • adverbnot really

Example

这个说法并非完全正确。zhè ge shuō fǎ bìng fēi wán quán zhèng què

This statement is not entirely correct.

Illustration for 并非 (not really)

More examples

事实并非如此。shì shí bìng fēi rú cǐ

That is not the case.

Core concept

A clear line separates what seems true from what is actually true.

Common phrases

  • 事实并非如此shì shí bìng fēi rú cǐ

    that is not the case

  • 并非所有人bìng fēi suó yǒu rén

    not everyone

Similar words

并不是bìng bú shì: Rejects the idea that an apparent judgment or claim matches the actual situation.
并不bìng bù: Negates a fact, quality, or degree in a natural way that is common in speech.
未必wèi bì: Says that a result or claim may not be true, without ruling it out.
并未bìng wèi: Stresses that an expected event still has not taken place, especially in writing.

Definition in Chinese

表示实际上并不是人们所想或所说的情况，用于纠正或反驳，语气偏强调且常见于书面或正式场合，通常位于谓语之前。biǎo shì shí jì shàng bìng bú shì rén men suǒ xiǎng huò suǒ shuō de qíng kuàng yòng yú jiū zhèng huò fǎn bó yǔ qì piān qiáng diào qiě cháng jiàn yú shū miàn huò zhèng shì chǎng hé tōng cháng wèi yú wèi yǔ zhī qián

Word origin

并非 (bìngfēi, "not really") is built from 并 (bìng, "together") and 非 (fēi, "not"), with 并 reinforcing the negative force instead of adding a literal idea of joining.

Usage tips

  • This word suits a correction in written explanations and careful speech more than a quick, casual denial, so register matters when choosing it.

Other meanings

  • not the caseadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word