Question

not so much A as B是什么意思？

Answer 1

not so much．．．as．．．是一个常用的并列连词，其含义相当于rather than，意为"与其说是……倒不如说是……"。和其它连接词一样，它可以连接词与词，短语与短语以及句子与句子。例如：

He isn't so much ill as depressed．（＝He's depressed rather than ill．）他不是生病，而是情绪低落。

Oceans don't?so much divide the world as unite it．（＝Oceans unite the world rather than divide it．）与其说海洋分隔了世界，倒不如说海洋联结了世界各国。

当连接句子时，not so much．．．as．．．连接的往往是because或that引起的从句，意思是"倒不是因为……而是因为……"。as后的that有时可省去。例如：

You feel lost，sick at heart before such unmasked hatred，not so much because it threatens you as because it shows humans in such an inhuman light．面对这毫不掩饰的仇恨，你感到不知所措，惶恐不安，这倒不是因为它威胁了你，而是因为它显示了人类居然如此没有人性。

It's not so much that the machine is out of order as（that）I have not learned to operate it．倒不是机器出了故障，而是我还没有学会操作。

该并列连词中的as可用but（rather）替换，即出现该连词的一种变体：not somuch．．．but（rather）．．．。例如：

It is not so much the actual population of the world but its rate of increase which is important．重要的与其说是实际的世界人口总数，倒不如说是世界人口增长率。

Answer 2

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　　not so much A as B
　　 与其说A不如说B（肯定B）
　　 = rather than 取反
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