也
yě
Also, too
也不是 (yě bù shì) — neither option works
X + 也不是 (yě bú shì)，Y + 也不是 (yě bú shì) / X + 也 (yě) + X + 不得 (bùdé)，Y + 也 (yě) + Y + 不得 (bùdé)
HSK 53.0
Pattern diagram
Action也不是，Action也不是
Verb也Verb不得
Rule structure
X也不是 (yě bù shì)，Y也不是 (yě bù shì) says that neither of two options is suitable. X也 (yě)X不得 (bù dé)，Y也 (yě)Y不得 (bù dé) emphasizes that two actions cannot be taken. Each clause repeats its own verb; both patterns convey a difficult choice.
Rule structure
X也不是 (yě bù shì)，Y也不是 (yě bù shì) says that neither of two options is suitable. X也 (yě)X不得 (bù dé)，Y也 (yě)Y不得 (bù dé) emphasizes that two actions cannot be taken. Each clause repeats its own verb; both patterns convey a difficult choice.
Examples
走也不是，留也不是，他站在门口不知道怎么办。
Zǒu yě bú shì, liú yě bú shì, tā zhàn zài ménkǒu bù zhīdào zěnme bàn.
Leaving won’t do, and staying won’t do either; he stood at the door not knowing what to do.
Examples
走也不是，留也不是，他站在门口不知道怎么办。
Zǒu yě bú shì, liú yě bú shì, tā zhàn zài ménkǒu bù zhīdào zěnme bàn.
Leaving won’t do, and staying won’t do either; he stood at the door not knowing what to do.
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Words from this rule
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “neither option works” in Chinese with 也不是?
Use the structure: X + 也不是 (yě bú shì)，Y + 也不是 (yě bú shì) / X + 也 (yě) + X + 不得 (bùdé)，Y + 也 (yě) + Y + 不得 (bùdé). For example: 走也不是，留也不是，他站在门口不知道怎么办。 — “Leaving won’t do, and staying won’t do either; he stood at the door not knowing what to do”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
走也不是，留也不是，他站在门口不知道怎么办。 — “Leaving won’t do, and staying won’t do either; he stood at the door not knowing what to do”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 3.0 Level 5.
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More HSK 3.0 Level 5 grammar rules
不得了 — oh no, an extreme situation
不得了 (bùdéliǎo)! (+ Situation)
着 — while doing, something happened
Verb (A) + 着 (zhe) + Verb (A) + 着 (zhe), ...
没 — paired absence with 没A没B
没 (méi) + A + 没 (méi) + B
说 — doing it at once: 说A就A
说 (shuō) + Verb (A) + 就 (jiù) + Verb (A)
用不着 — no need to
Subject + 用不着 (yòngbuzháo) + Verb/Noun
的 — different people doing different things
A + 的 (de) + A，B + 的 (de) + B
不 — might as well, no reason not to
不 (bù) + Verb + 白 (bái) + 不 (bù) + Verb
是它 — whether it's good or bad
X + 是 (shì) + 它 (tā)，Y + 也 (yě) + 是 (shì) + 它 (tā)