第二年第一百七十八天

[nnozomi]

语法
（不）是，而（不）是, "而" to emphasize conflicting ideas (top of page)
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Using_%22er%22_to_explain_contrasting_ideas

词汇
靠, lean (?? approach?) (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-2-word-list/

Guardian:
你记住，你是个人，而不是把刀, remember, you're a person, not a knife.
敢情你们特调处不是要一个顾问，而是需要一个保姆, what you people at the SID need isn't a consultant, it's a nanny
小姐，你不能靠近他, Miss, you can't go near him

Me:
他不是我男朋友，而是我哥哥。
原来我们和爱情曾经靠得那么近🎵

Comments

[grayswandir]

(?? approach?)

Hmm. Maybe in reference to 靠近, which can mean approach/draw near/be near?

[nnozomi]

Yeah, "approach" is my understanding and "lean" is the definition in the HSK list--in the sense of "lean toward something" I suppose it probably is the root meaning, but I've sure never seen 靠 used that way.

[grayswandir]

Oh, got it, I thought approach was the one you hadn't seen! In Canto I mostly hear it as "rely on," so both "lean" and "approach" seem equally rare/literary to me. But at least for Mandarin, I see Pleco offers 把梯子靠在墙上 as "to lean a ladder against a wall"...

[nnozomi]

把梯子靠在墙上 as "to lean a ladder against a wall"...
Oh, okay, that makes sense!