绝不是... 更不是...
Reach for this when you want to nuke two related misconceptions at once — 'it's absolutely not A, and even less B.' The first half rejects the obvious wrong reading; the second half rejects an even more extreme one. You'll see this in op-eds, manifestos, defenses, and any rhetorical moment where the writer wants to draw a hard line: 'this isn't merely X — it's not even close to the worse thing some people imagine.'
Structure
绝不是 [A], 更不是 [B]
jué bú shì... gèng bú shì...
How to Think About It
绝 means 'absolutely,' raising the floor of the denial. 更 then escalates: 'and even less so is it B.' The two halves climb a ladder of rejection — B is something even worse or more extreme than A, and the speaker is making sure neither sticks. The order matters: B has to feel like a stronger or more damning accusation than A, otherwise the 更 doesn't earn its place.
Examples
这绝不是小事, 更不是可以忽略的问题。
Zhè jué bú shì xiǎo shì, gèng bú shì kěyǐ hūlüè de wèntí.
This is absolutely not a small matter, let alone something that can be ignored.
他绝不是懒, 更不是没能力。
Tā jué bú shì lǎn, gèng bú shì méi nénglì.
He's absolutely not lazy, let alone incapable.
成功绝不是运气, 更不是天赋。
Chénggōng jué bú shì yùnqi, gèng bú shì tiānfù.
Success is absolutely not luck, let alone talent.
Common Mistake
Learners reverse the order — putting the stronger negation in the first slot and the weaker one in the second. The structure expects 更不是 to escalate, so the second item must be more extreme. If they're equal, use 不是...也不是... instead.
他绝不是骗子, 更不是说错了话。
他绝不是说错了话, 更不是骗子。
Don't Confuse With
不是...也不是...
Plain 'not A, also not B' — neutral, no escalation. Use when the two items are equally wrong; use 绝不是...更不是... when you want to escalate intensity.
不仅不是...而且不是...
Adds 'not only A but also B' in the negative — both negations are reinforced, but without the escalation curve. Closer to 'neither A nor B'; less rhetorical heat than 绝不是...更不是....
绝对不是...
Single-clause absolute denial. Use when you only need to reject one thing strongly; the paired 更不是 only earns its keep when there's a stronger misconception to knock down too.
Practice
这 ___ 是误会, 更不是故意的。
Show answer
绝不
他绝不是普通的工人, ___ 不是新手。
Show answer
更
Put in order: [绝不是 / 错误 / 这 / 更不是 / 失败 / 一次]
Show answer
这绝不是一次错误, 更不是失败。
Translate to Chinese: 'This is absolutely not a game, let alone a joke.'
Show answer
这绝不是游戏, 更不是玩笑。
Write one sentence defending something or someone against two escalating accusations, using 绝不是...更不是....
Show answer
Example answer: 我们的产品绝不是劣质品, 更不是骗局。 (Our product is absolutely not low-quality, let alone a scam.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: