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 Positive

Structure

A + negative comment, B + 倒 + positive comment

Examples

• 这 家 餐厅 的 汉堡 不 正宗，倒 也 挺 好 吃。This cafeteria's hamburgers aren't very authentic, but they are very tasty.
• 东航 的 服务 很 差 ，但 票价 倒 也 便宜。Eastern Airlines' service is pretty bad, but their ticket prices are really cheap.

倒 can be used with 不过, 但是 or 可是 for further emphasis.

倒 Used to Make a Concession and then a Complaint

Structure

倒 can also be used to express a concession and is used like this:

倒 + positive comment (concession) + 不过/但是/就是 + negative comment

Examples

• 你 倒 说得 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.
• 丽江 倒 很 漂亮，不过 人 太 多 了!Lijiang is very beautiful, but there are too many people!
• 这 道 菜 倒 好吃，就是 太 辣 了!This food is delicious, but it's just too spicy!

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.

• 银行家 都是 坏蛋！....我 倒 不 觉得。Banks are all evil! I can't believe it!
• A: “钱 太 重要 了，没有 钱 是 不 行 的!” B: “我 倒 不 觉得 金钱 能 衡量 一切”。 A:Money is the most important, not having money is no good. B:I don't think that money should be considered everything.

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