Meaning & usage
ではなく presents a contrast where A is denied and B is offered as the correct alternative, as in 先生ではなく学生です. It follows nouns and the stem of na-adjectives, with ではなくて as a slightly softer connective variant, and the clause after it carries the main assertion. It is neutral and common in both speech and writing, but when modifying a noun, keep な on the second adjective, as in 静かではなくにぎやかな店だ.
Example sentences 6
-
世界を変えるのは情報ではなくコミュニケーションだ。
What changes the world is communication, not information.
-
問題なのは何を読むかではなくてどう読むかである。
It is not what you read but how you read that matters.
-
問題になっている点は彼女の能力ではなく性格だ。
The point at issue is not her ability but her character.
-
彼は先生ではなく学生です。
He is not a teacher but a student.
-
これはじょうだんではなく本当です。
This is not a joke, it is the truth.
-
静かではなくにぎやかな店だ。
It is not a quiet shop but a lively one.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 5 past exam questions.
And 1 more test.
