Chinese symbol for “rather”
而是
ér shì
rather
The closest CC-CEDICT match for rather is 而是 (ér shì), defined as: rather.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “rather”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 颇 (頗) | pō | rather; quite |
| 颇具 (頗具) | pō jù | rather; quite |
| 颇为 (頗為) | pō wéi | rather; quite |
| 较 (較) | jiào | (bound form) to compare; (literary) to dispute |
| 有些 | yǒu xiē | some; somewhat; rather; a bit |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 而是.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 而且 | ér qiě | (not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 从而 (從而) | cóng ér | thus; thereby |
| 而已 | ér yǐ | that's all; nothing more |
| 因而 | yīn ér | therefore; as a result |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not |
| 就是 | jiù shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however |
See also: Japanese symbol for “rather”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.