Chinese word

反倒

Pronunciation

Pinyinfǎn dào

Meaning

  • adverbinstead

Example

下雨了，反倒更凉快。xià yǔ le fǎn dào gèng liáng kuài

It rained, but it got cooler instead.

Illustration for 反倒 (instead)

More examples

我们多管闲事，反倒帮不上忙。wǒ men duō guǎn xián shì fǎn dào bāng bú shàng máng

We meddled in other people's business but ended up being no help instead.

Core concept

A situation takes an unexpected turn, with the final result contrasting sharply with what came before.

Common phrases

  • 反倒成了笑话fǎn dào chéng le xiào huà

    instead turn into a joke

  • 反倒帮不上忙fǎn dào bāng bú shàng máng

    instead prove unhelpful

Similar words

反而fǎn ér: Shows that an outcome turns out contrary to what was expected.
却què: Marks a result or situation that goes against the earlier content.
倒dào: Indicates that an action or result takes an opposite direction from the expected one.

Definition in Chinese

表示事情出人意料地朝相反方向发展、从而出现与预期不同结果的副词，常用于突出转折和对比。biǎo shì shì qíng chū rén yì liào dì cháo xiāng fǎn fāng xiàng fā zhǎn cóng ér chū xiàn yǔ yù qī bù tóng jié guǒ de fù cí cháng yòng yú tū chū zhuǎn zhé hé duì bǐ

Word origin

反倒 (fǎndào, "instead; on the contrary") combines 反 (fǎn, "reverse") with 倒 (dào, "turn around"), framing an outcome as a reversal of the expected direction.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, it often comes before the surprising outcome after an expectation has been stated, which makes the contrast easy to hear.

Other meanings

  • on the contraryadverb

Word lists with this word