Writing
反而 (fǎn ér) — how to say "on the contrary" in Chinese
反而
On the contrary, instead
modal adverb
How to use it
Goes before the verb and shows the speaker's attitude.
他反而更胖了。
tā fǎn ér gèng pàng le
He, on the contrary, got even fatter.
Character composition
反
opposite, against
而
and, but
Radicals / Keys
又
Again
#29 · yòu · 2 strokes
而
And
#126 · ér · 6 strokes
Collocations
反而变坏
fǎn'ér biàn huài
instead, it got worse
反而更好
fǎn'ér gèng hǎo
on the contrary, even better
Examples
吃了药以后，他的病不但没好，反而更严重了。
After taking the medicine, his illness not only didn't get better but, on the contrary, became more serious.
反而更好了。
On the contrary, it got better.
Frequently asked questions
On the contrary meaning in Chinese
"on the contrary" in Chinese is 反而 (fǎn ér).
反而 meaning in English
反而 (fǎn ér) means "On the contrary, instead".
How is 反而 pronounced?
It is pronounced fǎn ér (written as fan er, faner). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "on the contrary" in Chinese characters?
It is written 反而: 反 has 4 strokes, 而 has 6 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 反而?
反而 belongs to the HSK 5 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 反而
反而 — on the contrary
⋯⋯，反而 (fǎn'ér) ⋯⋯
反而 vs 却 — contrary to expectation vs but
反而 (fǎn'ér): contrary to expectation / 却 (què): however, but
居然 vs 反而 — unexpected vs on the contrary
居然 (jūrán): unexpectedly (surprise) / 反而 (fǎn'ér): on the contrary
不但不 — not only not, but the opposite
Subject + 不但不 (búdàn bù) + Verb + 反而 (fǎn'ér) + Verb / Subject + 不但没有 (búdàn méiyǒu) + Verb + 反而 (fǎn'ér) + Verb