Comparing "fan'er" and “xiangfan"

Revision as of 06:45, 27 June 2013 by Yucui (talk | contribs)
Chinese-grammar-wiki-faner.jpg

The differences 反而 and 相反 are pretty clear. 反而 is an adverb, while 相反 is an adjective, and this determines how they are used grammatically.

They are put in different parts of the sentence

相反 can be put in the middle of a sentence,and when you use it it should be separated with a comma. 反而 can only be a part of a whole sentence, and cannot include punctuation, however it can be placed in the middle of a sentence.


Structure

A,相反,B

A,反而B

Examples

  • 这 个 方法 对 他 来说 没用,相反,对 我 有用。
  • 吃 水果 不但 对 他 没 好处,反而 有 坏处。

They are used in different situations

反而 is used in the context of the speaker expecting some kind of turning point. 相反 is for similar things that have a different aspect. “反而”表达的期望与事实的差距程度比“相反”要深一倍。

Structure

expect,相反,expect didn't happen

expect,反而 + fact is far away from expect

Examples

  • 好 好 工作 就 会 升职,相反,不 好 好 工作 是 不 会 升职 的。
  • 老板 没有 生气,反而 让 我 提 了 更 多 的 建议。

相反 can act as an attribute

相反 is an adjective, and of course it can also be an attribute. Just make sure to add a 的 after it. 相反 cannot be used this way.


Structure

相反 + 的 + Noun.

Examples

  • 这 是 两 个 完全 相反 的 结果。
  • 你 应该 朝 相反的 方向 走。

相反 can be the predicate

相反, like all other adjectives, can be placed after the subject as the predicate of the sentence. Sometimes you can also say 正好相反.


Structure

Subject + 相反

Examples

  • 这 两 种 艺术 的 表现 形式 相反
  • 我们 的 看法 是 相反 的。

相反 can also be a short phrase

Structure

A 跟/和 B 相反

Examples

  • 老板 的 想法 跟 我 的 相反
  • 现在 的 观念 和 以前 的 相反

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

→buy

Dictionaries