Expressing contrariness with "dao"

倒 (dào) can be used to express something is contrary to expectations, acting as a turning point in the sentence. It is generally followed by a positive comment.

倒 Used to Express an Unexpected Situation

Note that 倒 is often followed by 也 or 又 to add further emphasis.

Structure

⋯⋯，倒 + Unexpected Situation

Examples

• 他 不 是 很 努力 的学生，但 成绩 倒 也 不错。He's not a vey hardworking student, but his score isn't too bad.
• 已经 是 春天 了，倒 又 冷 起来 了。It's already spring, but it's getting cold.
• 不 吃 药，病 倒 慢慢 好 了。I didn't take any medicine, but I'm getting better.
• 他 是 个 老外，普通话 倒 挺 流利。He is a foreigner, but he speaks fluent Chinese.

倒 Used to Make a Concession and then a Complaint

Structure

倒 can also be used to express a concession, so it's often followed by 不过、但是、就是。

Subj. + Verb + 倒 + ⋯⋯，Concession

Examples

• 你 说 得 倒 挺 流利，就是 有 点 洋腔洋调。You speak very fluently, it's just that you have a little bit of an accent.
• 你们 说 得 倒 容易，不过 做 起来 很 难!It's easy to be said, but it's hard to be done!
• 这 个 女孩 长得 倒 漂亮，就是 太 矮 了。The girl looks really beautiful, but she's too short.

倒 Used Idiomatically

A useful little phrase to admit concession is 那倒也是, something like "I guess so, I hadn't thought of it like that before." Or if on the contrary you are unwilling to concede, 我倒不觉得 can be used.

• 其他 老师 都 说 这 个 学生 很 笨，我 倒 不 觉得。All the other teachers said this student is stupid, but I disagree.
• 很 多 人 认为 钱 是 最 重要 的，我 倒 不 觉得。 A lot of people think that money is the most important, but I don't think so.

For more on 倒, be sure to check our C1 (advanced) grammar point on expressing contrariness with 倒.

See also

• Expressing contrariness with "dao"
• The "However" Adverb "que"
• "On the Contrary" with "fan'er"
• Conceding a Point with "shi"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 140-3) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) (pp. 52) →buy