How to say “not only… even…” in Chinese with 不但…甚至连
不但 (búdàn) + Clause 1, 甚至 (shènzhì) + 连 (lián) + Noun + 都 (dōu)/也 (yě) + Verb
Expressing "not only…, even…" using "不但 (bùdàn) … 甚至连 (shènzhì lián) …"
不但 (búdàn) + Clause 1, 甚至 (shènzhì) + 连 (lián) + Noun + 都 (dōu)/也 (yě) + Verb
HSK 5Sentence PatternsExpressing "not only…, even…" using "不但 (bùdàn) … 甚至连 (shènzhì lián) …"
Rule structure
不但 (bùdàn)…甚至连 (shènzhì lián)… is an emphatic progression: "not only… but even…". It uses 甚至 (shènzhì) to escalate and 连 (lián)…都 (dōu)/也 (yě) to highlight the extreme case.
Rule structure
不但 (bùdàn)…甚至连 (shènzhì lián)… is an emphatic progression: "not only… but even…". It uses 甚至 (shènzhì) to escalate and 连 (lián)…都 (dōu)/也 (yě) to highlight the extreme case.
Examples
他不但没道歉，甚至连电话都不接。
Tā bùdàn méi dàoqiàn, shènzhì lián diànhuà dōu bù jiē.
Not only did he not apologize, but he doesn’t even answer the phone.
Examples
他不但没道歉，甚至连电话都不接。
Tā bùdàn méi dàoqiàn, shènzhì lián diànhuà dōu bù jiē.
Not only did he not apologize, but he doesn’t even answer the phone.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you express “Expressing "not only…, even…" using "不但 (bùdàn) … 甚至连 (shènzhì lián) …"” in Chinese?
Use the structure: 不但 (búdàn) + Clause 1, 甚至 (shènzhì) + 连 (lián) + Noun + 都 (dōu)/也 (yě) + Verb. For example: 他不但没道歉，甚至连电话都不接。 — “Not only did he not apologize, but he doesn’t even answer the phone.”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
他不但没道歉，甚至连电话都不接。 — “Not only did he not apologize, but he doesn’t even answer the phone.”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 5.
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