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Mythic Mandarin

On the contrary: 反而

HSK 5 Unit 2: Rather than and on the contrary · Lesson 2 of 5 · About 26 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can describe a result that goes against expectations with 反而, and talk about advice that backfired.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 干脆 mean?

    1. willpower
    2. condition, circumstances
    3. simply, might as well
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, simply, might as well.

    干脆 (gāncuì) means simply, might as well.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to queue”?

    1. 履行
    2. 不管
    3. 排队
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 排队.

    “to queue” is 排队 (páiduì).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    灵感 línggǎn

    1. inspiration
    2. to do one's best
    3. even if (spoken)
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, inspiration.

    You heard 灵感 (línggǎn): inspiration.

New words

  • 反而fǎn'éron the contrary, instead
  • 腰yāolower back, waist
  • 减轻jiǎnqīngto lighten, to reduce
  • 加重jiāzhòngto make heavier, to aggravate
  • 不但不búdàn bùnot only not

反而

反而 (fǎn'ér) says the result is the opposite of what you would expect. It often follows 不但不 or 没有.

  • 吃了药，病不但没好，反而更重了。

    Chī le yào, bìng búdàn méi hǎo, fǎn'ér gèng zhòng le.

    After taking the medicine, the illness didn't get better; on the contrary, it got worse.

  • 雨停了，天气反而更热了。

    Yǔ tíng le, tiānqì fǎn'ér gèng rè le.

    The rain stopped, and it got even hotter instead.

  • 我想帮忙，反而添了麻烦。

    Wǒ xiǎng bāngmáng, fǎn'ér tiān le máfan.

    I wanted to help but made more trouble instead.

  • Not: 他没有生气，所以很高兴。

    But: 他没有生气，反而很高兴。 Tā méiyǒu shēngqì, fǎn'ér hěn gāoxìng.

    For the opposite of the expected, use 反而.

减轻 (jiǎnqīng) is to reduce; 加重 (jiāzhòng) is to make worse.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

Too much exercise

Su Fei (Sophie) tells Professor Yang about her back problem.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

Helpful words: 没想到 méixiǎngdào unexpectedly, didn't expect; 伤 shāng to hurt, to injure; 添 tiān to add; 麻烦 máfan trouble; 省 shěng to save

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What happened to Sophie's back?

    1. It got worse.
    2. It got better.
    3. It stayed the same.
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, It got worse..

    没想到反而加重了.

  2. Listening

    What does the professor suggest?

    1. swimming
    2. rest completely
    3. more running
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, swimming.

    与其跑步，不如去游泳.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 杨教授

    你Nǐ的de腰yāo好hǎo点儿diǎnr了le吗ma？

    Is your back any better?

  2. 苏菲

    本来Běnlái想xiǎng多duō运动yùndòng可以kěyǐ减轻jiǎnqīng腰yāo疼téng，没想到méixiǎngdào反而fǎn'ér加重jiāzhòng了le。

    I thought more exercise would ease the pain, but it got worse instead.

  3. 杨教授

    你Nǐ做zuò了le什么shénme运动yùndòng？

    What exercise did you do?

  4. 苏菲

    每天Měitiān跑pǎo十shí公里gōnglǐ。

    Ten kilometres every day.

  5. 杨教授

    跑步Pǎobù对duì腰yāo不bù一定yídìng好hǎo。运动Yùndòng太tài多duō，效果xiàoguǒ不但不búdàn bù好hǎo，反而fǎn'ér会huì伤shāng身体shēntǐ。

    Running isn't necessarily good for the back. Too much exercise isn't just ineffective, it can actually hurt you.

  6. 苏菲

    那Nà我wǒ应该yīnggāi怎么办zěnmebàn？

    So what should I do?

  7. 杨教授

    与其Yǔqí跑步pǎobù，不如bùrú去qù游泳yóuyǒng。

    Rather than running, you'd be better off swimming.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 本来想多运动可以减轻腰疼，没想到反而加重了。

    Běnlái xiǎng duō yùndòng kěyǐ jiǎnqīng yāo téng, méixiǎngdào fǎn'ér jiāzhòng le.

    I thought more exercise would ease the pain, but it got worse instead.

  • 跑步对腰不一定好。运动太多，效果不但不好，反而会伤身体。

    Pǎobù duì yāo bù yídìng hǎo. Yùndòng tài duō, xiàoguǒ búdàn bù hǎo, fǎn'ér huì shāng shēntǐ.

    Running isn't necessarily good for the back. Too much exercise isn't just ineffective, it can actually hurt you.

  • 你的腰好点儿了吗？

    Nǐ de yāo hǎo diǎnr le ma?

    Is your back any better?

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 反而 mean?

    1. on the contrary, instead
    2. how many (small numbers)
    3. gentle, tender
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, on the contrary, instead.

    反而 (fǎn'ér) means on the contrary, instead.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “lower back, waist”?

    1. 捡
    2. 腰
    3. 笑
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 腰.

    “lower back, waist” is 腰 (yāo).

  3. Word order

    Put the words in order: Is your back any better?

    • 腰
    • 你
    • 好
    • 吗
    • 的
    • 了
    • 点儿
    Show the answer

    你的腰好点儿了吗 Nǐ de yāo hǎo diǎnr le ma?

    Is your back any better?

    你的腰好点儿了吗？ The sentence comes from this lesson's text.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    加重 jiāzhòng

    1. now
    2. anyway, in any case
    3. to make heavier, to aggravate
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, to make heavier, to aggravate.

    You heard 加重 (jiāzhòng): to make heavier, to aggravate.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “not only not” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 不但不

    “not only not” is 不但不 (búdàn bù).

  6. Grammar

    Which sentence means He wasn't angry; on the contrary, he was happy?

    1. 他没有生气，所以很高兴。
    2. 他没有生气，而且很高兴。
    3. 他没有生气，反而很高兴。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 他没有生气，反而很高兴。.

    他没有生气，反而很高兴。: 反而: the opposite of what you'd expect.

  7. Fill the gap

    Complete: Exercise can reduce stress.

    运动可以＿＿压力。

    1. 加重
    2. 减轻
    3. 反而
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 减轻.

    减轻: to reduce.

  8. In context

    You took a taxi to save time but arrived later. What do you say?

    1. 我想省时间，所以更早了。
    2. 我想省时间，而且更晚了。
    3. 我想省时间，反而更晚了。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 我想省时间，反而更晚了。.

    我想省时间，反而更晚了。: 反而: instead, contrary to expectation.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for on the contrary

    Show the answer

    Answer: 反而

    反而: on the contrary.

Backfired

Tell two stories out loud about plans that backfired, with 反而.

  1. What you intended (本来…).
  2. What happened instead (反而…).

Sentence frames

  • 我本来想＿＿，没想到反而＿＿。

    Wǒ běnlái xiǎng ＿＿, méixiǎngdào fǎn'ér ＿＿.

    I meant to ..., but instead ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I use 反而 for a result against expectations.
  • I can say reduce and make worse.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: It's less a job than a passion: 与其说…不如说