Kilo Lingo

(bù jǐn jǐn) - not merely, not just, more than only in Mandarin

jǐnjǐn

Traditional: 不僅僅

#2951 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

not merely, not just, more than only

Word origin

The negator 不 (bù, not) with the doubled 仅 (jǐn, only), an emphatic form of 不仅.

Origin
compound
Root
不 (bù, not) + 仅仅 (jǐn jǐn, merely)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 不

Stroke order for 仅

Stroke order for 仅

Examples

He is not merely my teacher.

This is not just a question of money.

What we want is more than just speed.

She does not just speak Chinese, she speaks French too.

The problem does not lie here alone.

不仅仅 (bù jǐn jǐn) is the emphatic version of 不仅: not merely, not just this and nothing else. Doubling 仅 adds weight, so it lands harder than a plain 不只 and belongs to slightly more considered speech and writing.

It almost always sets up a second half. The pattern is 不仅仅 A,还 B or 不仅仅 A,而且 B: 她不仅仅会说中文,还会说法语. When the second clause is left off, the sentence is making a corrective point, as in 这不仅仅是钱的问题, where the listener is expected to supply the rest.

Two traps. First, the tone of 不: because 仅 is third tone, 不 keeps its fourth tone here (bù), unlike 不是 or 不到 where it shifts to bú. Second, English speakers park it at the end of the sentence the way they park not just. Chinese puts it before the thing being limited, so it is 不仅仅是速度 and never 是速度不仅仅.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

不仅仅: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "不仅仅" (not merely, not just, more than only): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 60.