与其…不如
yǔqí…bùrú
Put both on the scale and take the side that sinks
The picture Two options set on the pans of a scale — the near one lifting light, the far one settling down. 与其…不如 is a scale choosing the better side; 不是…而是 is an eraser correcting the wrong one.
Where the picture shows up in 与其…不如
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Eating beats waiting
与其在这儿等，不如先去吃点东西。
yǔqí zài zhèr děng, bùrú xiān qù chī diǎn dōngxi
Rather than wait here, let's go get something to eat first.
a glance at the queue number, then standing up and turning toward the restaurant
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The pro's hands beat mine
与其自己修，不如请师傅来看看。
yǔqí zìjǐ xiū, bùrú qǐng shīfu lái kànkan
Rather than fix it yourself, better to call a repairman to look at it.
a screwdriver set down and a phone picked up to dial the repair shop
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Now beats tomorrow
与其明天再说，不如现在就打电话。
yǔqí míngtiān zài shuō, bùrú xiànzài jiù dǎ diànhuà
Rather than talk about it tomorrow, let's call right now.
a hand stopping halfway into writing on tomorrow's page and hitting the call button instead
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The near pan left unsaid
这么贵，不如换一家。
zhème guì, bùrú huàn yì jiā
That expensive? Better to try another shop.
eyebrows going up at a price tag, then a turn straight toward the shop next door
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Weighing the wording itself
与其说他忘了，不如说他不想来。
yǔqí shuō tā wàng le, bùrú shuō tā bù xiǎng lái
It's less that he forgot and more that he didn't want to come.
a note reading 'he forgot' crumpled up and another wording written beside it
All of it in one picture
与其…不如 is one scale. Waiting here rises, going to eat first sinks; fixing it yourself rises, calling the repairman sinks. You can leave the near pan unspoken and keep only 不如, and you can even weigh the wording itself: not so much that he forgot, more that he didn't want to come.