倒反

dàofǎn
adverb

Meanings

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

Examples

Wǒ qù bāng tā, tā dàofǎn shēngqì le.
I went to help him, but instead he got angry.
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

dào
fǎn