How to Say "but instead" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “but instead” is “sino” — A2 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
No quiero té, sino café.
I don't want tea, but rather coffee.
El coche no es rojo, sino azul oscuro.
The car isn't red, but dark blue.
No solo corrimos, sino que también nadamos.
We didn't just run, but we also swam.
Sino: The 'Corrector'
Think of 'sino' as a word that corrects or replaces something. It almost always follows a negative statement (something with 'no'). The pattern is: 'not this, sino that'.
When to Use 'sino que'
If the part of the sentence after 'sino' has its own action (a full verb), you need to add 'que'. For example: 'No salí, sino que me quedé en casa.' (I didn't go out, but rather I stayed home.)
Confusing 'sino' and 'pero'
Mistake: “El libro no es aburrido, pero interesante.”
Correction: El libro no es aburrido, sino interesante. Use 'sino' to directly correct a negative idea ('not boring, but interesting'). Use 'pero' to add a contrasting idea to a positive one ('Es interesante, pero muy largo' - 'It's interesting, but very long').
Related Translations
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