HSK 4 grammar · adverb
反而
反而 — on the contrary / instead
Pattern
+
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Placed before the verb to signal that what happened is the opposite of what one would expect from the earlier situation. It highlights a reversal, so the preceding clause usually sets up an expectation that the 反而 clause overturns.
Examples
吃了药，病反而更严重了。
Chī le yào, bìng fǎn'ér gèng yánzhòng le.
After taking the medicine, the illness got worse instead.
我帮了他，他反而生气了。
Wǒ bāng le tā, tā fǎn'ér shēngqì le.
I helped him, yet he got angry instead.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 反而 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.