Expressing "on the contrary" with "fan'er"

反而 (fǎn'ér) is used to express "on the contrary" or "in contrast," with 反而 going in the second part of the sentence. Note that the meaning of 反而 goes beyond just "but" and is usually used to explain that something is totally the opposite of what one was expecting.

Basic Pattern

Structure

Normally the first clause above makes a statement, and then the second clause introduces the part that is totally opposite of one's expectations.

The overall structure of sentences that use 反而 is something like this:

Sentence ，Subj. + 反而 + ⋯⋯

It's also important to point out that 反而 is not a conjunction; it's an adverb. Practically speaking, this means that rather than joining two statements, it goes inside a statement (within the second clause). Specifically, it needs to come after the subject and before the verb. (Note that when you use a conjunction like 但是 it comes before the subject! 反而 is different in this respect. Also, rather than replacing 但是, it can work with it to add emphasis.

Also, sometimes the subject of the second clause will be omitted. If there is a subject, however, 反而 definitely need to come after it.

• 我 帮 了 她 ， 反而 她 生气 了 。
• 我 帮 了 她 ， 她 反而 生气 了 。

Examples

• 吃 了 这 个 药 ，病 反而 更 严重 了。After taking medicine, the illness didn't get better. On the contrary, it got even worse.
• 他 没有 放弃 ，反而 更加 努力 了 ！He didn't give up; on the contrary, he worked even harder.
• 你 的 参与 反而 给 我们 带来 了 麻烦。Your involvement wasn't really helpful; on the contrary, it gave us trouble.
• 这 个 新 系统 反而 降低 了 我们 的 工作 效率。This new system didn't improve our working efficiency. On the contrary, it reduced it.

Fuller Structure

Structure

Sentence ，Subj. 不但 + 不 / 没 ⋯⋯，反而 + ⋯⋯

Examples

• 吃 了 药 ，病 不但 没 好，反而 加重 了。After taking medicine, the illness didn't get better. On the contrary, it got even worse.
• 你 这样 做 ，不但 没 帮到 我们，反而 给 我们 带来 了 麻烦。You didn't help us by doing this. On the contrary, you brought us trouble.
• 你 妈妈 那么 爱 你 ，不但 不 感谢她 ，反而 说 她 不 关心 你 ？！Your mother loves you so much. You are not thankful to her at all; On the contrary, you said she doesn't care about you?!
• 她 吃 了 减肥 药 ，不但 没 瘦 ，反而 长胖 了 ！She took the weight-loss pill. She didn't lose weight at all; On the contrary, she gained some weight!

See also

• The "However" Adverb "que"
• Expressing Contrariness with "dao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 259) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (p. 84) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 83, 151-2) →buy

Websites

• 汉语教学: [反而]

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