Grammar
-뿐만 아니라
Meaning
Advanced-ppunman anira
Used to add something beyond what was already mentioned, meaning 'not only A but also B'. It attaches after a noun, or after a verb/adjective clause in its -(으)ㄹ form, and the second clause commonly includes 도 ('also') to reinforce the addition.
Form
Noun + 뿐만 아니라 (e.g. 학생뿐만 아니라 'not only students'). For a verb/adjective clause, use -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라: vowel-ending stem + -ㄹ 뿐만 아니라, consonant-ending stem + -을 뿐만 아니라 (예쁠 뿐만 아니라 'not only is it pretty', 맛있을 뿐만 아니라 'not only is it delicious'). The following clause typically pairs the added item with 도.
Examples
폭염은 사람뿐만 아니라 가축에게도 큰 피해를 주었다.
The heat wave caused great damage not only to people but also to livestock.
나이뿐만 아니라 직급도 중요합니다.
Not only age, but rank is also important.
From: Age and Honorifics: Understanding Korean Speech Etiquette
이 식당은 음식이 맛있을 뿐만 아니라 가격도 저렴해요.
This restaurant's food isn't only delicious — the prices are affordable too.
그는 공부를 잘할 뿐만 아니라 운동도 잘합니다.
He's not only good at studying — he's good at sports too.
Common mistakes & nuance
The second clause commonly includes 도 to reinforce the 'also' meaning; leaving it out isn't wrong, but it makes the addition feel weaker and less natural. Note that 뿐만 아니라 literally contains 뿐(만) ('only') + 아니라 ('is not') — 'it's not only ~' — so don't confuse it with -만 alone, which means 'only' with the opposite (restrictive) sense.
Similar grammar
- N도 N도
N도 N도 lists two or more items each marked with 도, treating them as equally weighted ('both N and N'), while -뿐만 아니라 frames the first item as a baseline and the second as an additional, often more noteworthy fact ('not only A but also B').
- -기도 하다
-기도 하다 means a certain action or state also occurs, among other possibilities, in a softer way ('it also sometimes happens that ~'), while -뿐만 아니라 makes a stronger structural claim of 'not just A, but B as well', often used for emphasis.