Breakdown of Не то чтобы свинина была плохой, но мне говядина нравится больше.
быть
to be
мне
me
больше
more
нравиться
to like
Questions & Answers about Не то чтобы свинина была плохой, но мне говядина нравится больше.
What does Не то чтобы... mean here?
It is an idiomatic way to soften a statement. In this sentence, Не то чтобы свинина была плохой... means something like:
- It’s not that pork is bad...
- Not exactly that pork is bad...
- It’s not as if pork were bad...
The speaker is being careful: they are not criticizing pork directly, just saying they personally prefer beef.
This structure is very common when you want to deny an extreme interpretation before giving your real opinion.
Why is it Не то чтобы, not just Не то что or Не то, что?
Не то чтобы is a fixed expression with its own meaning: it’s not that... / not as if...
It should be learned as a chunk.
Compare:
- Не то чтобы он глупый, но неопытный.
It’s not that he’s stupid, just inexperienced.
This is different from other combinations involving то and что, which may literally mean that which or work in other sentence patterns.
So in your sentence, Не то чтобы is best treated as one idiomatic connector.
Why is it была, which looks like past tense, if the meaning is about the present?