Breakdown of Die Mahlzeit ist nicht vegan, sondern vegetarisch.
sein
to be
nicht
not
sondern
but rather
die Mahlzeit
the meal
Questions & Answers about Die Mahlzeit ist nicht vegan, sondern vegetarisch.
Why do we use sondern here instead of aber to mean "but"?
Both words mean "but", but sondern is used specifically to correct a negative statement. Because the first half of this sentence makes a negative claim by saying the meal is nicht vegan, we must use sondern to introduce the correct alternative (vegetarisch).
Do I always need to put a comma before sondern in this kind of sentence?
Yes! In German, conjunctions that express a strong contrast, like sondern and aber, must always have a comma right before them.
Why is there no verb after sondern?
You could technically say sondern sie ist vegetarisch, but it isn't required. When the subject (Die Mahlzeit) and the verb (ist) are exactly the same in both halves of the sentence, it is much more natural to drop them from the second half.
I know die Zeit means "the time", so why does die Mahlzeit mean "meal"?
Das Mahl is an older word for a feast or a dining event. Combined with Zeit (time), it originally meant "mealtime". Today, die Mahlzeit is simply the standard, everyday word for the meal itself.