HSK 40 views

宁可……也不……

nìngkě...yě bù...

Would rather... than... (宁可……也不……)

宁可……也不…… shows a strong choice: the speaker would rather accept A than do B. It often expresses principle, determination, or sacrifice.

Anchor example

我宁可多花点儿时间，也不随便完成任务。

Wǒ nìngkě duō huā diǎnr shíjiān, yě bù suíbiàn wánchéng rènwu.

I would rather spend more time than finish the task carelessly.

HSK 4

1 structures

15 exercises

Lesson summary

宁可……也不…… shows a strong choice: the speaker would rather accept A than do B. It often expresses principle, determination, or sacrifice.

Explanation

宁可……也不…… shows a strong choice: the speaker would rather accept A than do B. It often expresses principle, determination, or sacrifice. Use it only when the logical relationship is clear. Pay attention to the fixed pair markers and keep the two clauses parallel in meaning. 与其……不如…… recommends the better option; 宁可……也不…… emphasizes refusal of B even if A is difficult.

Structure Patterns

1 structures

Grammar pattern

宁可 A，也不 B

宁可……也不…… shows a strong choice: the speaker would rather accept A than do B. It often expresses principle, determination, or sacrifice.

他宁可走路回家，也不坐那辆车。

Tā nìngkě zǒulù huí jiā, yě bù zuò nà liàng chē.

He would rather walk home than take that car.

Common Mistakes

using only one half of 宁可……也不…….keep the full frame 宁可 A，也不 B.
the second marker is needed to show the relationship clearly.
reversing the two clauses mechanically.keep the less preferred/cause/topic in the first part and the better/result/correction in the second part according to meaning.

Usage Notes

Core pattern: 宁可 A，也不 B.
Keep the two parts semantically parallel and logically connected.
Use natural HSK4 contexts such as work, study, decisions, reasons, explanations, and opinions.

Practice

15 exercises

1 / 15

Fill in the blank:

我____多花点儿时间，也不随便完成任务。

宁可……也不…… (nìngkě...yě bù...) - HSK 4 | PandaBoo