bukan ... tetapi ...

Not X but Y

Level 3

Bukan ... tetapi ... corrects one description with another. Bukan ... melainkan ... is also a useful formal correction model. Do not turn that editing preference into a universal ban on other attested contrastive combinations.

How It Works

The pattern bukan ... tetapi ... is a contrastive structure used to correct a misconception. However, learners should be aware of important register distinctions and punctuation rules.

1. Formal Standard (Baku)
A clear formal corrective model is bukan ... melainkan ...: Ini bukan masalah uang, melainkan masalah waktu. Other combinations also occur in standard descriptions; TBBI itself illustrates tidak ... melainkan with verbal clauses. Learn the intended negation and contrast rather than banning a pair solely from its two surface words.

2. Contrast Punctuation
According to formal Indonesian orthography (EYD), use a comma before melainkan or tetapi in the ordinary coordinated contrasts illustrated here.

3. The 'Bukan Hanya' Correlative
When expressing 'not only... but also...', one clear formal model is bukan hanya ... melainkan juga .... Other additive pairings occur, including bukan hanya ... tetapi juga ...; interpret this as adding a second item, not replacing the first. (Note: tetapi juga pairs formally with tidak hanya ... tetapi juga ...).

4. Conversational Usage
In daily speech, bukan ... tetapi ... (or the shortened tapi) is very common and widely accepted. Melainkan often suits explicit correction in formal prose, but it is not forbidden or necessarily unnatural in conversation. Speakers do not universally choose the same connector.

5. Verbs and Adjectives
A standard model for ordinary negation followed by a contrast is tidak ... tetapi ... (e.g., Dia tidak malas, tetapi lelah). While bukan is primarily for nouns, it can be used with adjectives or verbs to emphasize a specific correction. A clear formal model for this emphatic correction uses melainkan (Dia bukan malas, melainkan lelah), whereas conversational usage often pairs it with tetapi or tapi (Dia bukan malas, tapi lelah).

6. The Variation 'Bukannya'
For added emphasis or when negating a whole clause or situation, the form bukannya is often used. It signals that the following statement will strongly contradict the first part: Bukannya dia tidak mau, tapi dia tidak bisa (It's not that he doesn't want to, but he can't). Note that the subject can be placed flexibly before or after bukannya (e.g., Saya bukannya malas... or Bukannya saya malas...).

Examples (5)

  1. Dia bukan seorang guru, tetapi seorang dokter.

    He is not a teacher, but a doctor.

    Word by Word: He not a teacher, but a doctor.

    Bukan negates the professional classification and tetapi introduces its correction. Melainkan is another clear connector for this corrective contrast.

  2. Bukan aku yang mengambil uang itu, tetapi dia.

    It was not me who took the money, but him.

    Word by Word: Not I who take money that, but he.

    Here, the pattern contrasts two pronouns (aku and dia) to clarify who performed an action.

  3. Ini bukan masalah uang, tetapi masalah waktu.

    This is not a matter of money, but a matter of time.

    Word by Word: This not matter money, but matter time.

    This demonstrates the pattern used with noun phrases to contrast abstract concepts.

  4. Tas ini bukan mahal, tetapi eksklusif.

    This bag is not expensive; rather, it is exclusive.

    Word by Word: Bag this not expensive, but exclusive.

    Using 'bukan' with adjectives emphasizes that the speaker is correcting a specific label or assumption.

  5. Bukan hanya dia yang datang, tetapi juga teman-temannya.

    Not only did he/she come, but his/her friends came too.

    Word by Word: Not only he who come, but also friends-his.

    This is a variation of the pattern used to add information rather than just replace it.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'tidak' to negate a noun in a contrastive sentence.

    Dia tidak guru, tetapi dokter.
    Dia bukan guru, tetapi dokter.

    In the ordinary nominal-predicate model, negate guru with bukan. Corrective or metalinguistic negation can behave differently, but tidak guru is not the basic profession statement taught here.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bukan ... tetapi ...Level 3Not X but Y

Learn This First

To use 'bukan ... tetapi ...', you first need to understand how to negate nouns using 'bukan' and how to use the conjunction 'tetapi' to show contrast. This pattern combines these two elements to correct a statement by saying it is 'not X, but rather Y'.

Learn Next

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Words in This Pattern