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.

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:

clause 1, Subject + 反而 + unexpected opposite outcome

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

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.
• 天气 预报 说 今天 是 大晴天，结果反而下 了 一整天 的 雨 。The weather forecast said today was supposed to be sunny, but it turned out that it rained all day.
• 他 觉得 所谓 的 发展 不 是 进步，反而 是 退化。He thinks that this so-called development isn't progress, but actually decline.
• 商家 简化 说明书 是 为了 方便 消费者，结果 反而 更 麻烦 了。This business simplifies its manuals to make it convenient for consumers, but it actually makes things even more bothersome.

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

Websites

• 汉语教学: [反而]

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