emas, balki

Not This, But That

Level 4

A emas, balki B = not A but B: Bu kitob emas, balki daftar. (This is not a book but a notebook.)

How It Works

Use this pattern to replace a wrong idea with the right one. Balki here is a contrasting conjunction, like English but, rather.

1. Correcting a noun or a place
Put emas right after the word you reject:

  • Bu kitob emas, balki daftar. This is not a book but a notebook.
  • U Toshkentga emas, balki Samarqandga ketdi. He went not to Tashkent but to Samarkand.

Keep the same case ending on both items: Toshkentga ... Samarqandga.

2. With a person ending
When you correct who you are, emas takes the person ending: Men oʻqituvchi emasman, balki talabaman. I am not a teacher but a student.

3. With verbs
For actions, make the first verb negative with -ma- and add the right action after balki: U oʻzi kelmadi, balki ukasini yubordi. He did not come himself; he sent his younger brother instead.

4. Punctuation and short forms
A comma always comes before balki. In speech, balki may drop out: Bu kitob emas, daftar.

5. Two different balki
Alone at the start of a sentence, balki means maybe, and the comma comes after it: Balki, u kelar. See balki / ehtimol. To add something instead of replacing it, use nafaqat ... balki ... ham.

Examples (5)

  1. Bu kitob emas, balki daftar.

    This isn't a book but a notebook.

    Word by Word: This book not, but notebook.

  2. Men oʻqituvchi emasman, balki talabaman.

    I'm not a teacher but a student.

    Word by Word: I teacher not-am, but student-am.

  3. U Toshkentga emas, balki Samarqandga ketdi.

    He went not to Tashkent but to Samarkand.

    Word by Word: He Tashkent-to not, but Samarkand-to went.

  4. Eng muhimi pul emas, balki salomatlik.

    The most important thing is not money but health.

    Word by Word: Most important-its money not, but health.

  5. U oʻzi kelmadi, balki ukasini yubordi.

    He didn't come himself; he sent his younger brother instead.

    Word by Word: He himself did-not-come, but younger-brother-his-(obj.) sent.

    With verbs, the first verb is negative and balki brings in what happened instead.

Common Mistakes

  • Using lekin instead of balki to correct something.

    Bu kitob emas, lekin daftar.
    Bu kitob emas, balki daftar.

    Lekin adds a contrast to something true: Kitob qiziq, lekin qimmat (The book is interesting but expensive). To replace a wrong item with the right one, use balki.

  • Using yoʻq instead of emas.

    Bu kitob yoʻq, balki daftar.
    Bu kitob emas, balki daftar.

    Yoʻq means there is not. To say that something is not a certain thing, use emas.

How It Connects

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

emas, balkiLevel 4Not This, But That

Learn This First

Builds on Saying Something Is Not and But.

Words in This Pattern

emasemas