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与其 A，宁可 / 宁愿 B (rather than … would rather)
IntroducedYour saved position stays in this browser. Resuming does not complete the lesson or answer its questions.
Better to walk
- The traffic is completely stuck, and your office is only two kilometres away.
- rather than与其at / in在bus车li, ancient measure of…里wait等，I我would rather宁可walk走路to go去。 — "Rather than wait in the car, I'd rather walk."
rather than与其 A，would rather宁可 / would rather宁愿 B
- rather than与其 A，would rather宁可 B = rather than A, (I) would rather B: the speaker rejects A and chooses B firmly.
- rather than与其 introduces the rejected option; would rather宁可 / would rather宁愿 the chosen one.
rather than与其at home在家wait等，I我would rather宁愿go out出去look找。
Complete: “Rather than complain, better find a solution.” 与其抱怨，____想办法。
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与其 A，不如 B.
Two versions
- rather than与其…better to不如… = rather than A, better B (recommending): rather than与其complaining抱怨，better to不如think of想a solution办法.
- rather than与其…would rather宁可… = rather than A, I'd rather B (personal choice, often with sacrifice).
rather than与其complaining抱怨，better to不如think of想a solution办法。
Build: “Rather than wait in the car, I'd rather walk.”
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与其 A，宁可 B.
Which option is chosen?
- The option after rather than与其 is the one rejected; the one after would rather宁可 / better to不如 is chosen.
- variant of 宁宁 in would rather宁可 / would rather宁愿 is read nìng.
In 与其在家等，我宁愿出去找, which option does the speaker reject?
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The 与其 option is rejected.
Versus would rather宁可…(and)也not不…
- would rather宁可 A，(and)也not不 B = I'd rather A than B (the rejected option second).
- rather than与其 B，would rather宁可 A = the same choice with the rejected option first.
I我would rather宁可walk走路，(and)也not不take坐this这bus车。
In 宁可 A，也不 B, B is the rejected option.
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The order is reversed compared with 与其.
Recap
- rather than与其 A，would rather宁可 / would rather宁愿 B = rather than A, I'd rather B; rather than与其 A，better to不如 B = better B.
- The rather than与其 option is rejected; would rather宁可…(and)也not不… puts it second.
Read the full reference: HSK 6 grammar — Sentence patterns.
The traffic is completely stuck, and your office is only two kilometres away. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.
This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.