HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
非A非B
非A非B — neither A nor B
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
非A非B denies both of two categories at once: 非亲非故 "neither kin nor friend". The classical negator 非 is repeated, and the result is a fixed, written-style judgement that something fits nowhere.
Examples
我们非亲非故，他为什么帮我？
Wǒmen fēiqīn-fēigù, tā wèishénme bāng wǒ?
We're neither kin nor friends — why would he help me?
这东西非驴非马。
Zhè dōngxi fēilǘ-fēimǎ.
This thing is neither one thing nor the other.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 非A非B is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.