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Level Advanced Chinese · HSK 5–6

Against Expectations: 反而, 反正, 不料, 偏偏, 总算, 未必 and 难免

Much of real conversation is about things turning out differently from what someone expected. These adverbs carry that attitude in a single word. They all sit after the subject and before the verb, except 不料, which opens its clause.

反而 and 反正

反而 (fǎn'ér) means 'instead, on the contrary': the result is the opposite of what the first clause would lead you to expect. 吃了药，病反而更重了 (after taking the medicine, he got worse instead). It often follows 不但不 / 不仅没有: 他不但没生气，反而笑了.

反正 (fǎnzhèng) means 'anyway, in any case': whatever the circumstances, the conclusion stays the same. 你去不去都行，反正我要去 (go or don't, I'm going anyway). It often comes after a 不管 clause or a choice.

  • 他不但没帮忙，反而添了不少麻烦。

    Tā búdàn méi bāng máng, fǎn'ér tiānle bù shǎo máfan.

    Far from helping, he actually caused a lot of trouble.

  • 别着急，反正还有时间。

    Bié zháojí, fǎnzhèng hái yǒu shíjiān.

    Don't rush, there's still time anyway.

不料, 居然 and 偏偏

不料 (búliào) means 'unexpectedly, who'd have thought': it opens the clause that brings the surprise, usually in narration. 居然 (jūrán) is an adverb after the subject, like 竟然, and more colloquial. 意想不到 (yìxiǎng bú dào) means 'unexpected' as an adjective.

偏偏 (piānpiān) has two uses: 'as luck would have it' (just when you didn't want it), and 'insist on doing (against advice)'. 我急着出门，偏偏下起雨来 (I was in a hurry to go out and, just my luck, it started raining). 偏要 is 'insist on': 不让他去，他偏要去.

  • 本来想给她一个惊喜，不料她早就知道了。

    Běnlái xiǎng gěi tā yí ge jīngxǐ, búliào tā zǎo jiù zhīdao le.

    I meant to surprise her, but it turned out she'd known all along.

  • 我越不让他碰，他偏偏要碰。

    Wǒ yuè bú ràng tā pèng, tā piānpiān yào pèng.

    The more I tell him not to touch it, the more he insists on touching it.

总算, 好不容易, 未必 and 不见得

总算 (zǒngsuàn) means 'at long last, finally (with relief)'. 好不容易 (hǎobù róngyì) means 'with great difficulty', despite looking like a negative: 好不容易 = 好容易 = very hard. 我好不容易才买到票 (I only managed to get a ticket with great difficulty).

未必 (wèibì) and 不见得 (bú jiànde) mean 'not necessarily': they politely cast doubt. 贵的未必好 (expensive isn't necessarily good). 未必 is more written; 不见得 more spoken. 不至于 (búzhìyú) means 'it won't go so far as'.

  • 等了两个小时，车总算来了。

    Děngle liǎng ge xiǎoshí, chē zǒngsuàn lái le.

    After two hours of waiting, the bus finally came.

  • 他说的不见得对。

    Tā shuō de bú jiànde duì.

    What he says isn't necessarily right.

难免, 不免 and 未免

难免 (nánmiǎn) means 'hard to avoid, bound to happen': 刚开始工作，犯错是难免的 (when you've just started, mistakes are inevitable). 不免 (bùmiǎn) is similar but describes a natural reaction: 想起往事，不免有些伤心.

未免 (wèimiǎn) is a polite criticism: 'rather too, a bit much'. 你这样说未免太过分了 (saying that is going a bit too far).

  • 第一次上台，紧张是难免的。

    Dì yī cì shàng tái, jǐnzhāng shì nánmiǎn de.

    The first time on stage, it's only natural to be nervous.

  • 这个价格未免太高了吧。

    Zhège jiàgé wèimiǎn tài gāo le ba.

    This price is rather on the high side, isn't it?

Common mistakes

  • ✗下雨了，反而我们没去。

    ✓下雨了，所以我们没去。

    Xià yǔ le, suǒyǐ wǒmen méi qù.

    反而 marks a result opposite to the expected one. Not going because of rain is the expected result; and 反而 goes after the subject anyway.

  • ✗我好不容易找到了工作。 (meaning: it was easy)

    ✓我很容易就找到了工作。

    Wǒ hěn róngyì jiù zhǎodàole gōngzuò.

    好不容易 means 'with great difficulty', not 'not easy' = easy. To say it was easy, use 很容易.

  • ✗反正下不下雨，我都去。

    ✓不管下不下雨，我都去。

    Bùguǎn xià bu xià yǔ, wǒ dōu qù.

    The 'whether or not' clause needs 不管. 反正 belongs in the conclusion: 下不下雨无所谓，反正我要去.

Questions learners ask

What's the difference between 居然 and 竟然?

They're nearly interchangeable. 居然 is a little more colloquial; 竟然 a little more written.

Is 未免 the same as 难免?

No. 难免 says something is inevitable; 未免 politely criticises something as excessive.

Practice this in lessons

The Advanced Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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