不但…而且… (búdàn…érqiě…) is Chinese for "not only… but also…," and like 虽然…但是… it is a two-part frame where both halves show up together. English lets you drop half of the pair — "He speaks French too" carries the "not only… but also" idea with no explicit markers, and even the full version can collapse to "Not only does he…" with inversion. Chinese does neither: it opens with 不但 (or 不仅) and closes with 而且 / 还 / 也. The logic is one of escalation — the first clause states something, and the second clause piles on something bigger, more surprising, or more decisive. Getting both brackets down, and getting the second clause to genuinely go further, is what makes the pattern sound native.
The escalation frame
不但 (or the slightly more formal 不仅) opens the frame; 而且, 还, or 也 closes it. The two clauses usually share one subject, and the second must add weight — it is not a neutral "and," it is a "and what's more."
| Slot | Word | Register / nuance |
|---|---|---|
| Clause 1 opener | 不但 (búdàn) | "not only" — the everyday default |
| Clause 1 opener | 不仅 (bùjǐn) | "not only" — a touch more formal, common in writing |
| Clause 2 opener | 而且 (érqiě) | "but also / moreover" — the strongest, most explicit pivot |
| Clause 2 marker | 还 (hái) | "also / on top of that" — sits before the verb, very spoken |
| Clause 2 marker | 也 (yě) | "also / too" — neutral, before the verb |
You can mix and match the openers with the closers, and 而且 often teams up with 还/也 for extra force: 不但…而且还…. For the wider family of "moreover" words on their own, see 而且 / 并且 / 再说 / 另外.
这家店的菜不但便宜，而且好吃。
zhè jiā diàn de cài búdàn piányi, érqiě hǎochī
The food at this place is not only cheap, but also tasty. (informal) — the model 不但…而且 sentence.
他不但会说英语，而且会说法语。
tā búdàn huì shuō Yīngyǔ, érqiě huì shuō Fǎyǔ
He not only speaks English, but also French. (neutral)
她不但长得漂亮，人也很好。
tā búdàn zhǎng de piàoliang, rén yě hěn hǎo
She's not only good-looking, she's also a lovely person. (informal) — closed with 也, not 而且.
Where 不但 sits: same subject vs. different subjects
The placement of 不但 depends on whether the two clauses talk about the same subject or different ones — a distinction that decides the whole rhythm of the sentence.
- Same subject: 不但 goes after the subject, which is stated once and then dropped. 他不但…，而且…。
- Different subjects: 不但 goes before the first subject, so each clause can carry its own. 不但他…，…也…。
这个决定不但影响我们公司，而且影响整个行业。
zhège juédìng búdàn yǐngxiǎng wǒmen gōngsī, érqiě yǐngxiǎng zhěnggè hángyè
This decision affects not just our company, but the whole industry. (formal) — one subject, 不但 after it.
不但他来了，他朋友也来了。
búdàn tā lái le, tā péngyou yě lái le
Not only did he come, his friend came too. (informal) — two subjects, so 不但 fronts the first clause.
不仅学生喜欢这位老师，家长也很信任他。
bùjǐn xuésheng xǐhuan zhè wèi lǎoshī, jiāzhǎng yě hěn xìnrèn tā
Not only do the students like this teacher, the parents trust him too. (formal, written) — 不仅 fronting different subjects.
The twist: 不但不…反而…
A vivid variant reverses expectation. When the first clause is negative (不但不 / 不但没 "not only did NOT…"), the second clause often swings the other way with 反而 (fǎn'ér) "on the contrary, instead." This is the frame for outcomes that defy what you'd predict.
吃了药，病不但没好，反而更严重了。
chī le yào, bìng búdàn méi hǎo, fǎn'ér gèng yánzhòng le
After taking the medicine, the illness not only didn't get better — it got worse. (neutral)
我道歉了，他不但不领情，反而更生气了。
wǒ dàoqiàn le, tā búdàn bù lǐngqíng, fǎn'ér gèng shēngqì le
I apologized, but instead of appreciating it, he only got angrier. (informal)
Note that here the second clause takes 反而, not 而且 — because the point is a contrast with expectation, not a simple addition. For the standalone "on the contrary" adverb, see 反而 (On the Contrary).
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping the second connector. Because English can leave "but also" implicit, learners write only the 不但 half and never close it. To a Chinese ear the sentence dangles.
❌ 他不但会说英语，会说法语。
Incomplete — 不但 opened a frame that was never closed; it needs 而且 / 还 / 也 in the second clause.
✅ 他不但会说英语，还会说法语。
tā búdàn huì shuō Yīngyǔ, hái huì shuō Fǎyǔ
He not only speaks English, he also speaks French.
2. Putting 不但 after the subject when the subjects differ. With two different subjects, 不但 must front the first clause; leaving it after the first subject wrongly scopes it inside that subject's own actions.
❌ 妈妈不但同意了，爸爸也同意了。
Misscoped — different subjects (妈妈 / 爸爸), so 不但 should front the first clause: 不但妈妈同意了…
✅ 不但妈妈同意了，爸爸也同意了。
búdàn māma tóngyì le, bàba yě tóngyì le
Not only did Mom agree, Dad agreed too.
3. A second clause that doesn't escalate. 不但…而且 promises the second point is bigger. If it's weaker or just parallel, the frame feels off — use plain 和 / 而且 instead.
❌ 他不但是博士，而且是大学生。
Anticlimactic — 大学生 (undergraduate) is a lesser claim than 博士 (PhD); the second clause must go further, not backward.
✅ 他不但是大学生，而且已经是博士了。
tā búdàn shì dàxuéshēng, érqiě yǐjīng shì bóshì le
He's not just a university student — he already has a PhD.
4. Using 而且 after 不但不 where the meaning is 'on the contrary.' When the first clause is negated and the outcome defies expectation, the pivot is 反而, not 而且.
❌ 他不但不帮忙，而且捣乱。
Weak pivot — a contrary-to-expectation result wants 反而 (on the contrary), not the additive 而且.
✅ 他不但不帮忙，反而捣乱。
tā búdàn bù bāngmáng, fǎn'ér dǎoluàn
Not only did he not help, he actually made things worse.
Key Takeaways
- 不但…而且… is a paired frame like 虽然…但是…: open with 不但 / 不仅, close with 而且 / 还 / 也 — you need both ends.
- The second clause must escalate — go further, stronger, or more surprising — not merely add a parallel fact.
- Same subject → 不但 sits after it; different subjects → 不但 fronts the first clause.
- The negative twist 不但不…反而… ("not only didn't…, but on the contrary…") pivots with 反而, not 而且.
- 不仅 is the more written/formal opener; 而且 the strongest closer, 还/也 the lighter spoken ones.
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- 而且 / 并且 / 再说 / 另外 (Moreover)HSK 4 — The additive connectors pile on an extra point or reason: 而且 (moreover), 并且 (and also, formal), 再说 (besides — spoken), 另外 (in addition), and 何况 (let alone) — each opening a clause, never joining bare nouns.
- 虽然…但是/可是… (Although…Yet…)HSK 2 — 虽然…但是/可是… (suīrán…dànshì/kěshì) is the paired concession frame: Chinese REQUIRES a 'but' word in the second clause where English forbids it — 虽然很累，但是很开心 'although tired, (yet) happy'.
- 反而 (On the Contrary / Instead)HSK 5 — 反而 (fǎn'ér) signals that the OPPOSITE of the expected result actually happened: 吃了药反而更难受了 'after taking the medicine I felt worse instead'; 你不帮忙反而添乱 'you're not helping — you're making it worse'. It needs a prior clause that sets up an expectation for it to overturn, and often pairs with 不但不…反而….
- 除了…以外，还… (Besides / In Addition To)HSK 3 — 除了…以外，还/也… (chúle…yǐwài, hái/yě) means 'besides X, also …': 除了中文，我还会说日语 'besides Chinese, I also speak Japanese'; 除了他，还有很多人来 'besides him, many others are coming too'. Here 除了 INCLUDES the named item and adds more — the mirror image of the exclusion frame. The word after 除了's clause decides everything: 还/也 adds, 都 excludes.