Hindi expresses emphatic addition with the paired frame न केवल X, बल्कि Y भी: “not only X, but also Y.” The first member denies that X is the full story; the second adds Y as further, often more surprising information. The crucial grammar is parallel scope: न केवल must stand immediately before the kind of constituent being contrasted, and भी normally follows the corresponding constituent in the second member.
इस बदलाव से न केवल कर्मचारी, बल्कि ग्राहक भी प्रभावित होंगे।
is badlāv se na keval karmcārī, balki grāhak bhī prabhāvit hoṅge.
Not only employees but also customers will be affected by this change.
Here the paired items are two noun phrases, कर्मचारी and ग्राहक. न केवल precedes the first noun phrase; भी follows the second. The plural future होंगे suits the combined set being discussed.
The basic frame and its logic
The full pattern has three pieces:
- न केवल opens the first, incomplete part of the comparison.
- बल्कि signals that a correcting or strengthening addition follows.
- भी marks the second constituent as additive: “also / too.”
अनन्या ने न केवल रिपोर्ट पढ़ी, बल्कि उस पर विस्तार से टिप्पणी भी लिखी।
ananyā ne na keval riporṭ paṛhī, balki us par vistār se ṭippaṇī bhī likhī.
Ananya not only read the report but also wrote a detailed comment on it.
यह नया ऐप न केवल तेज़ है, बल्कि इस्तेमाल में आसान भी है।
yah nayā aip na keval tez hai, balki istemāl meṃ āsān bhī hai.
This new app is not only fast but also easy to use.
हमने न केवल किराया कम किया, बल्कि मुफ़्त मरम्मत की सुविधा भी दी।
hamne na keval kirāyā kam kiyā, balki muft marammat kī suvidhā bhī dī.
We not only reduced the rent but also provided free repair service.
The paired units may therefore be nouns, adjectives, postpositional phrases, predicates, or complete clauses. What matters is that the reader can compare like with like. English allows speakers to misplace not only fairly freely and rely on intonation. Written Hindi is less forgiving because the position of न केवल announces its scope before the reader reaches बल्कि.
Scope: what exactly is being added?
Compare the effect of moving न केवल:
न केवल सीमा ने, बल्कि आदिल ने भी शिकायत दर्ज कराई।
na keval sīmā ne, balki ādil ne bhī śikāyat darj karāī.
Not only Seema but Adil too filed a complaint.
सीमा ने न केवल शिकायत दर्ज कराई, बल्कि सारे सबूत भी भेजे।
sīmā ne na keval śikāyat darj karāī, balki sāre sabūt bhī bheje.
Seema not only filed a complaint but also sent all the evidence.
In the first, two ने-marked subjects are contrasted. Repeating ने after both names keeps their syntactic roles unmistakable. In the second, the subject stays constant and two predicates are added. The location of न केवल therefore changes what the listener expects after बल्कि.
Postpositions normally remain attached to each paired noun phrase:
यह नियम न केवल नए छात्रों के लिए, बल्कि शिक्षकों के लिए भी उपयोगी है।
yah niyam na keval nae chātroṃ ke lie, balki śikṣakoṃ ke lie bhī upyogī hai.
This rule is useful not only for new students but also for teachers.
Repeating के लिए is clearer than forcing one postposition to stretch across a long pair. In short pairs, Hindi can share material, but explicit parallelism is usually easier to read.
Where भी belongs
भी is a focus particle, not simply a fixed final word in the conjunction. It follows the constituent that means “also.” With ग्राहक भी, customers are included; with कल भी, tomorrow is included; with दिल्ली में भी, Delhi is included. In a larger second clause, placing भी immediately after the intended focus prevents ambiguity.
Because ही and भी locate focus in different ways, learners who need a fuller account of particle placement should also see contrastive focus with ही.
कार्यशाला न केवल सोमवार को होगी, बल्कि मंगलवार को भी चलेगी।
kāryaśālā na keval somvār ko hogī, balki maṅgalvār ko bhī calegī.
The workshop will not only take place on Monday but will continue on Tuesday as well.
वह न केवल हिंदी समझता है, बल्कि उसमें धाराप्रवाह लिख भी सकता है।
vah na keval hindī samajhtā hai, balki usmeṃ dhārāpravāh likh bhī saktā hai.
He not only understands Hindi but can also write it fluently.
In लिख भी सकता है, भी follows the lexical verb to highlight the additional ability “write as well.” Hindi particles can intervene inside a verb complex, so translating each word in English order is unreliable.
Agreement across the pair
The conjunction itself does not determine agreement. A shared finite verb follows ordinary Hindi agreement with its coordinated or focused arguments. When each member is a complete clause, each verb agrees within its own clause.
न केवल बिजली बंद थी, बल्कि इंटरनेट भी काम नहीं कर रहा था।
na keval bijlī band thī, balki iṇṭarneṭ bhī kām nahīṃ kar rahā thā.
Not only was the electricity off, but the internet wasn't working either.
The feminine copula थी belongs to बिजली; masculine रहा था belongs to इंटरनेट. There is no reason to force the two predicates into one agreement pattern merely because the clauses form a rhetorical pair.
Register and natural alternatives
न केवल...बल्कि...भी is neutral in careful speech and very common in (formal) exposition, news, presentations, and academic prose. It can sound planned in casual conversation. Everyday speakers frequently use सिर्फ़...ही नहीं,...भी or simply two clauses with और.
उसने सिर्फ़ रास्ता ही नहीं बताया, हमारे साथ स्टेशन तक भी आया।
usne sirf rāstā hī nahīṃ batāyā, hamāre sāth sṭeśan tak bhī āyā.
He didn't just tell us the way; he also came with us as far as the station.
This is (informal/neutral) and idiomatic in conversation. The pairing न केवल...अपितु...भी is possible in highly Sanskritized (formal/literary) prose, but अपितु sounds ceremonial or bureaucratic to many speakers. बल्कि, although historically part of the Perso-Arabic layer of Hindustani vocabulary, is thoroughly established in contemporary Standard Hindi and is not restricted to Urdu-oriented contexts.
बल्कि without the full pair
बल्कि can also correct a previous statement: “not X, but rather Y.” In that use, भी is normally absent because Y replaces X instead of being added to it.
वह नाराज़ नहीं था, बल्कि निराश था।
vah nārāz nahīṃ thā, balki nirāś thā.
He wasn't angry; rather, he was disappointed.
Compare additive न केवल नाराज़ था, बल्कि निराश भी था “he was not only angry but also disappointed.” The presence or absence of भी reflects a genuine meaning difference: replacement versus addition.
Punctuation
In edited prose, a comma before बल्कि helps mark the turn from the first member to the second, particularly when both contain predicates. With two short noun phrases, punctuation practices vary: न केवल चाय बल्कि कॉफ़ी भी is easy to read without a comma. Do not place a full stop after न केवल... unless the break is a deliberate rhetorical device, because the first member explicitly promises completion.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating भी as obligatory in every paired addition
इस फ़ैसले से न केवल छात्र, बल्कि शिक्षक प्रभावित होंगे।
is faisle se na keval chātr, balki śikṣak prabhāvit hoṅge.
Not only students but teachers will be affected by this decision. (acceptable compressed pairing)
✅ इस फ़ैसले से न केवल छात्र, बल्कि शिक्षक भी प्रभावित होंगे।
is faisle se na keval chātr, balki śikṣak bhī prabhāvit hoṅge.
Not only students but teachers too will be affected by this decision.
Both are Standard Hindi. Adding भी makes the additive focus explicit and often gives the clearest, fullest न केवल...बल्कि...भी pattern, but the particle may be omitted when the pairing is already unmistakable.
2. Mixing बल्कि with लेकिन
❌ उसने न केवल माफ़ी माँगी, लेकिन गलती भी सुधारी।
Incorrect pairing — लेकिन marks ordinary contrast, not the promised second half of न केवल.
✅ उसने न केवल माफ़ी माँगी, बल्कि गलती भी सुधारी।
usne na keval māfī mā̃gī, balki galtī bhī sudhārī.
She not only apologized but also corrected the mistake.
3. Giving the two halves mismatched scope
❌ न केवल अंशु ने खाना बनाया, बल्कि मेज़ भी सजाई।
Mismatched — the first focus is the subject Anshu, while the second adds a predicate.
✅ अंशु ने न केवल खाना बनाया, बल्कि मेज़ भी सजाई।
aṃśu ne na keval khānā banāyā, balki mez bhī sajāī.
Anshu not only cooked the food but also set the table.
4. Placing भी far from its focus
❌ सम्मेलन न केवल दिल्ली में, बल्कि होगा मुंबई में भी।
Incorrect neutral word order — भी and the second location have been split by the finite verb.
✅ सम्मेलन न केवल दिल्ली में, बल्कि मुंबई में भी होगा।
sammelan na keval dillī meṃ, balki mumbaī meṃ bhī hogā.
The conference will be held not only in Delhi but also in Mumbai.
Key Takeaways
- The full additive frame is न केवल X, बल्कि Y भी.
- X and Y should be parallel constituents or parallel clauses.
- न केवल announces the scope of X; भी follows the intended focus in Y.
- बल्कि without भी often corrects X with Y rather than adding Y.
- The standard frame is neutral-to-formal; सिर्फ़...ही नहीं,...भी is especially natural in conversation, while अपितु is markedly formal or literary.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- और coordinationA1 — Join words, phrases, predicates, and clauses with neutral Hindi और while keeping case, agreement, and punctuation clear.
- Contrastive focus with हीB1 — Place ही directly after a Hindi constituent to identify it as the exclusive, precise, or corrective alternative in focus.
- लेकिन मगर परंतु contrastA2 — Choose conversational लेकिन or मगर and formal परंतु to connect clauses whose second statement reverses an expectation created by the first.
- नहीं placement and constituent scopeA2 — Place नहीं before the Hindi predicate or a contrasted constituent, and use word order and prosody to show exactly what is being denied.
- के अलावा and के सिवा: addition and exclusionB2 — Use के अलावा for additive or exclusive set relations and के सिवा for exclusion, with context, polarity, and focus making the intended set clear.