Expressing contrariness with "dao"

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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.

A + negative comment, B + 倒 + positive comment

Some examples:

  • 这 家 餐厅 的 汉堡 不 正宗, 也 挺 好 吃。
  • 东航 的 服务 很 差 ,但 票价 也 便宜。

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

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

  • 说得 挺 流利,就是 有 点 洋腔洋调。
  • 丽江 很 漂亮,不过 人 太 多 了!
  • 这 道 菜 好吃,就是 太 辣 了!

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".

  • 银行家 都是 坏蛋!....我 不 觉得。
  • A: “钱 太 重要 了,没有 钱 是 不 行 的!” B: “我 不 觉得 金钱 能 衡量 一切”。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books