倒反

dàofǎn
adverb

Meanings

  1. 1 instead
  2. 2 on the contrary
  3. 3 contrary to expectations

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ qù bāng tā, tā dàofǎn shēngqì le.
I went to help him, but instead he got angry.
HSK 3
Tiānqì yùbào shuō xiàyǔ, dàofǎn chū le dà tàiyáng.
The forecast said rain, but on the contrary the sun came out big.

Tips

usage
倒反 is a slightly more emphatic, slightly old-fashioned cousin of 反而 (fǎn'ér). Both flag a result opposite to what you'd expect. In modern speech 反而 is far more common; 倒反 still appears in Taiwan and in literary registers.

Stroke Order

dǎo
fǎn