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而是

érshì

1. correlative conjunction but rather; but instead (paired with 不是)

   他不是不想去，而是没有时间。

   Tā bù shì bù xiǎng qù, érshì méiyǒu shíjiān.

   It's not that he doesn't want to go — he just has no time.

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 而是 includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.