Не те щоб кошик важкий, але буряка забагато.

heavy

Breakdown of Не те щоб кошик важкий, але буряка забагато.

• забагато: too much
• кошик: the basket
• буряк: the beetroot

Questions & Answers about Не те щоб кошик важкий, але буряка забагато.

What does Не те щоб mean here?

It is an idiomatic softening expression. In this sentence, Не те щоб X, але Y means something like:

It’s not exactly that X, but rather Y
or
It’s not that X so much as Y

So Не те щоб кошик важкий, але буряка забагато means the problem is not really the basket being heavy in itself; the real point is that there is too much beet/beetroot in it.

Why is it те in Не те щоб?

Here те is part of a fixed expression: не те щоб.

On its own, те is the neuter form of той (that), but in this phrase you should mostly learn the whole chunk together. Native speakers do not usually think of it word by word here; it functions as an idiom.

So for a learner, it is best to memorize:

не те щоб... = not exactly that... / it’s not really that...

What is щоб doing here? Does it mean in order to?