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

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

[Clause 1], [Clause 2 using 反而]

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

To make clearer how 反而 fits into the second clause:

[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

Here are some examples of 反而 in action:

• 吃 了 药 ，病 不但 没 好 ，反而 加重了。
• 天气 预报 说 今天 是 大晴天，结果反而下 了 一整天 的 雨 。
• 他 觉得 所谓 的 发展 不 是 进步，反而 是 退化。
• 商家 简化 说明书 是 为了 方便 消费者，结果 反而 更 麻烦 了。

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

Websites

• 汉语教学: [反而]

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