yǔ qí shuō … … , bù rú shuō … … 。 与其说……, 不如说……。
1. 与其说sb/sth B,不如说A sb./sth. is more A than B
E.g.
yǔ qí shuō tā shì wèi zhé xué jiā , bù rú shuō tā shì wèi yì shù jiā 。 与其说他是位哲学家,不如说他是位艺术家。 He is more an artist than a philosopher.
2. sb./sth. is less A than B 与其说sb/sthA,不如说B
yǔ qí shuō wǒ kě , bù rú shuō wǒ è 。 与其说我渴,不如说我饿。 I'm less thirsty than hungry.
3. not so much...as...
tā qù fǎ guó yǔ qí shuō shì guān guāng bù rú shuō qù kǎo chá 。 他去法国与其说是观光不如说去考察。 He go to France not so much for sightseeing as for inspection.