"instead" ?

[babygodzilla]

how do you say "instead", again? like

"instead of this, maybe you could do that," or "you can't do this? then do that instead." damn it ive learned this before and now i cant remember it. too lazy to find my old books again...

thanks!

[WoAiJolinTsai]

而不是！！！

[sophihlj]

xiangfang, 相反!

[babygodzilla]

er bu shi? i dont think that'll work. can anyone translate the examples ive given?

"instead of this, maybe you could do that,"

"you can't do this? then do that instead."

[skylee]

Consider -

"instead of this, maybe you could do that,"

-〉“與其做這個，也許你可以做那個。”

-〉“也許你可以做那個以代替這個。”

"you can't do this? then do that instead."

-〉“這個你做不了？那改爲做那個吧。”

[againstwind]

I think skylee's translations are acceptable.

Thinking about the word 'instead', I feel there may be no direct counterpoint in Chinese. But I find some more examples for you, hoping helpful. (Tip: the explanation below just gives usages of 'instead' in a sentence, not direct translations. Please pay attention.)

instead adv.

In the place of something previously mentioned; as a substitute or an equivalent:

代替：取代先前提到的某物；作为替代品或等同物：

e,g,

Having planned to drive, we walked instead.

我们以步行代替原先计划的驾车。

We've no coffee. Would you like tea instead?

我们没有咖啡了，改（or 要不）喝茶好吗？

It will take days by car, so let's fly instead.

开车去要好几天，我们改（or 要不/还是）坐飞机吧。

[skylee]

acceptable. that's nice.

[babygodzilla]

thank you sky and wind (wow your names are somewhat related to each other!) for the examples. very clear and quite helpful indeed.

i guess there isn't a 100% translation to "instead" in the Chinese language. INSTEAD, there are a number of ways to express contrast between one thing and another. ironic.

[Strawberries513]

^^ haha Skylee. Its ok. Im sure he meant they were right

btw, thanks for starting this topic babygodzilla. I have wanted to know how to say this too.

[hughitt1]

还是。。。。

e.g. ”我们还是先吃饭吧“ 。。 is kinda like saying "or how about we should eat first instead."

[babygodzilla]

im glad this topic is useful for you Strawberry.

so to summarize, there's

1)替代

2）改

3）还是

4）也许

did i leave anything out?

[skylee]

1) 替代 - it is more common to use 代替.

2) 改 - Depending on the situation, you can use 改 or 改爲.

4) 也许 - In my post # 5, 也許 is the translation for "maybe". The word that performs the "instead of" function is "與其", or in many cases "與其 … 不如".

[9公主xx]

to skylee, i think:

2) if 'instead' is used to talk about an action, it is better to use 改 than 改为。The latter is more used to talk about a noun.

right?