MyHSK2 Logo

Lesson

Neither...Nor (不…也不…)

1. Explain it simply

Use the pattern 不 A 也不 B to mean 'neither A nor B'.

Repeat 不 in front of each word, and put 也 right before the second 不.

A and B are usually the same type - two adjectives or two verbs.

2. Show examples

天气不冷也不热。

Tiānqì bù lěng yě bù rè.

Sandhi:Tiānqì bù lěng yě bú rè.

The weather is neither cold nor hot.

two adjectives

我不吃也不喝。

Wǒ bù chī yě bù hē.

I neither eat nor drink.

two verbs

这本书不新也不旧。

Zhè běn shū bù xīn yě bù jiù.

Sandhi:Zhè běn shū bù xīn yě bú jiù.

This book is neither new nor old.

也 sits before the second 不

3. Share a tip

Keep 也 directly before the second 不. Don't move it to the front or the end of the sentence.

MyHSK2 is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Hanban, or the Chinese Ministry of Education. HSK is a trademark of its respective owner. All practice content on this site is original material and is not reproduced from official HSK exams or study materials.