Chinese Conversation · Level 44
90 words
Chinese word
反过来
Pronunciation
Pinyinfǎn guò lái
Meaning
- adverbon the contrary
Example
这样做不行，反过来就会更麻烦。zhè yàng zuò bù xíng fǎn guò lái jiù huì gèng má fán
This won't work; on the contrary, it will make things even more complicated.
More examples
表面上看是好事，反过来却可能更糟。biǎo miàn shàng kàn shì hǎo shì fǎn guò lái què kě néng gèng zāo
On the surface, it looks like a good thing, but conversely, it could be even worse.
Core concept
A situation or conclusion moves against the expected or previously stated direction and produces the opposite result.
Common phrases
反过来来说fǎn guò lái lái shuō
conversely
反过来想fǎn guò lái xiǎng
think the other way around
反过来来看fǎn guò lái lái kàn
look at it the other way around
Similar words
反而fǎn ér: Points out that the outcome is unexpectedly the reverse of what would normally be expected.
却què: Marks a contrasting fact or action that goes against what was just stated.
反倒fǎn dào: Emphasizes that an unexpected reversal brings a worse result or creates a problem.
Definition in Chinese
表示事情的结果或情形与预期或前述相反，常用来引出对比或强调相反的结论。biǎo shì shì qíng de jié guǒ huò qíng xíng yǔ yù qī huò qián shù xiāng fǎn cháng yòng lái yǐn chū duì bǐ huò qiáng diào xiāng fǎn de jié lùn
Word origin
反 (fǎn, "reverse") + 过 (guò, "pass") + 来 (lái, "come") presents something coming in a reversed direction, a concrete pattern extended to a contrary result.
Usage tips
- Native English speakers may expect a contrast marker to reject the previous statement, but this adverb often introduces the consequence that follows when an earlier idea leads somewhere unexpected.
Other meanings
- insteadadverb
- ratheradverb