ではなく・
You cross out one thing and put the right one in its place: "not Friday, Thursday". じゃなくて is what people say, and ではなく is what they write.
What I ordered was not tea but coffee.
This is not a malfunction; the battery is dead.
It was not that the train was late; I got the time wrong.
After a noun or a な-adjective
A + じゃなくて／ではなく + B
Straight on, with no だ or な: 金曜日じゃなくて, 静かじゃなくて.
After a verb or an い-adjective
Plain form + の／ん + ではなく／じゃなくて
行くのではなく, 高いんじゃなくて. In casual speech の becomes ん.
Putting it right
Are we meeting on Friday?
No, not Friday—Thursday.
The wrong one goes right before じゃなくて, usually with no particle of its own. English often turns the two around: "salt, not sugar".
Please put in salt, not sugar.
This town is not quiet; it is lively even at night.
Not けど
English says "not Friday but Thursday". That "but" is not けど or でも: they keep both halves and weigh one against the other. Here one thing replaces the other.
Sounds odd: 金曜日じゃないけど、
It isn't Friday, but it is Thursday.
This weighs the two: "not Friday, but at least it's Thursday".
"No, I mean …"
Said the wrong word? じゃなくて takes it back, like "no, I mean".
The meeting is from three, no, I mean four.
No, that's not it. I'm talking about next week.
そうじゃなくて tells someone they have misunderstood you.
"It's not that …": のではなく
To cross out a whole statement, close it with の, or ん in conversation. What follows says what is really going on.
He is not angry; he is just a little tired.
It's not that I forgot. I didn't have time.
It is not that the price is high; I simply do not need to buy it now.
Spoken or written
じゃ is the spoken では, as in じゃない, and leaving off て is the more written way. So ではなく turns up in notices and formal speech as well as in writing, and ではなくて sits in between. じゃなく is じゃなくて cut short, and stays casual.
Please contact us by email, not by phone.
From a notice.
The meeting was not canceled; it was postponed until next week.
Let's make it tomorrow, not today.
Close neighbours
だけでなくN4
"Not only A but also B". A stays true, and B is added.
She can speak not only English but also Chinese.
ないでN4
With a verb, what you did in place of something else. Nobody's idea is being corrected.
I didn't take the bus; I walked there.
Check yourself
1A thinks the meeting is on Tuesday. It is on Wednesday. B answers:
いいえ、
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
妹は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
A particle on the wrong one
When the wrong one needs a particle such as に, で or から, it stays in front of ではなく.
I came from Osaka, not from Tokyo.
More sentences
This is not a meeting room; it is the records room.
The aim is not competition but cooperation.
I am not blaming anyone; I am only checking.
That hotel was not inconvenient; it was close to the station and convenient.