反而 (on the contrary / instead)
"But instead — the opposite"
- … ，on the contrary反而 … = "on the contrary / instead" — the result flips your expectation.
- variant of 吃吃(completed / change)了medicine药，on the contrary反而more更to feel unwell难受 = "took the medicine, but felt worse instead."
- on the contrary反而 marks a surprising reversal.
… ，(Subj) + on the contrary反而 + …
- on the contrary反而 introduces an outcome opposite to what you'd predict.
take吃了medicine药，instead反而more更unwell难受。
- variant of 吃吃(completed / change)了medicine药，on the contrary反而more更to feel unwell难受 = "took the medicine, but felt worse instead."
Explore
Correct or broken?
反而 sits in the result clause and flips the expected direction.
Practice
Took the medicine, but felt worse instead: 吃了药，____ 更难受。
… ，反而 … = on the contrary: 吃了药,反而更难受.
Practice
反而 goes before the verb, inside the clause.
Yes — 反而更难受 (before the verb).
Recap
Key idea
- … ，on the contrary反而 … — "on the contrary / instead" (a reversal)
- variant of 吃吃(completed / change)了medicine药，on the contrary反而more更to feel unwell难受
- on the contrary反而 sits before the verb; marks the opposite of expectation
Read the full reference: HSK 5 grammar — "But" statements.
Practice
反而 marks the result as…
反而 = a surprising reversal.