tidak hanya ... tetapi juga ...

The expression tidak hanya ... tetapi juga ... is a formal correlative conjunction. It is used to show that a statement applies to two elements, with the second element often being more surprising or important than the first.

1. Usage and Register
This is the standard formal construction. In casual conversation, Indonesians often use nggak cuma ... tapi juga ... or bukan cuma ... tapi juga .... However, in writing and formal speeches, tidak hanya ... tetapi juga ... is preferred.

2. The 'Tidak' vs 'Bukan' Distinction
In ordinary negation, tidak is generally used to negate verbs and adjectives, while bukan is used for nouns. In the larger additive construction, the negation rejects the restriction expressed by hanya. These conventional models are useful, but neither word class nor pair choice is an absolute restriction:

• Tidak hanya pairs with tetapi juga before parallel verbs, adjectives, prepositional phrases, or adverbials: Dia tidak hanya cantik, tetapi juga pintar. (She is not only beautiful, but also smart.)
• Bukan hanya is conventionally paired with melainkan juga. Although common with nouns (Ini bukan hanya masalah saya, melainkan juga masalah kita.), it can also join parallel verbs and adjectives. The meaning remains additive: Dia bukan hanya menangis, melainkan juga berteriak. means 'She not only cried, but also screamed'; both actions occurred.

3. Punctuation Rule
According to EYD V (the official Indonesian spelling guide), a comma is strictly required before tetapi or melainkan when connecting independent clauses. When connecting single words or short phrases, using a comma is a strong editorial convention in standard grammar books rather than a strict universal rule. For example: Mereka tidak hanya datang, tetapi juga membawa hadiah. (They not only came, but also brought gifts.)

4. Common Variations and Emphasis
In casual speech, people often place the particle saja after the first element (e.g., bukan hanya dia saja...). However, you should avoid combining hanya and saja in formal writing, as it is considered a pleonasm (pemborosan kata) and creates an ineffective sentence. Instead, a highly valuable formal alternative to elevate your register is bukan sekadar ... melainkan juga ... (not merely ... but also ...). Note that many native speakers frequently misspell and mispronounce this as sekedar. The correct standard formal spelling is sekadar, derived from the root word kadar. For stronger escalation, you might see juga replaced by bahkan (even): Dia tidak hanya memukul, tetapi bahkan melukai lawannya. (He not only hit, but even injured his opponent.) A familiar formal model is the pair tidak hanya ... tetapi juga ....

5. Parallelism and Prefix Consistency
Both parts of the sentence must be grammatically balanced, a principle known in formal Indonesian as Kesetaraan Sintaksis (Syntactic Parallelism). The two parts of the correlative conjunction must be placed immediately before the parallel elements they connect. A common trap for learners is the 'Misplaced Conjunction'. For example, Dia tidak hanya membeli buku, tetapi juga majalah is unbalanced because it pairs a verb (membeli) with a noun (majalah). To fix this, balance the verbs: Dia tidak hanya membeli buku, tetapi juga membeli majalah. Alternatively, shift the conjunction to balance the nouns (using the conventional bukan model): Dia membeli bukan hanya buku, melainkan juga majalah. This rule also applies to prepositions; for example, Dia pergi tidak hanya ke Jakarta, tetapi juga ke Bali. Consistent voice can help keep the same participant roles clear, for example with two meN- verbs. Identical prefixes are not required: membaca dan berdiskusi joins two activities. When switching to a di- passive, make the subject and its role clear; the problem is an unclear or mismatched participant, not the mere presence of a different prefix.

6. Subject Placement
English speakers often put the conjunction at the front of the sentence (e.g., 'Not only did they come...'). However, in Indonesian, it is highly preferred to place the shared subject before the correlative conjunction to maintain parallel structure and avoid awkward phrasing. For example, use Mereka tidak hanya datang, tetapi juga membawa hadiah instead of Tidak hanya mereka datang, tetapi juga membawa hadiah.