Adverbs 反而 and 反倒 "on the contrary"
Let’s learn how to talk about an unexpected turn of events.
The adverb 反而
We use the adverb 反而 
when the result is totally opposite of one's expectations.
We should state it before the predicate.
when the result is totally opposite of one's expectations.
We should state it before the predicate.Examples
你的帮忙反而给他添麻烦了
Your attempt to help actually gave him a lot of trouble
nǐ de bāngmáng fǎn'ér gěi tā tiān máfan le
他一点也不觉得难过，反而挺高兴
He did not feel sad at all, but rather happy
tā yìdiǎn yě bù juéde nánguò, fǎn'ér tǐng gāoxìng
我反而打算进入上海大学
On the contrary — I am planning to go to Shanghai University
wǒ fǎn'ér dǎsuàn jìnrù shànghǎi dàxué
We often can use 反而 after such constructions:
不但不… or 不但没…
不仅不… or 不仅没…
不只不… or 不只没…
不光不… or 不光没…
All these phrases are similar to 反而 but emphasize an unexpected result. It can be translated as “not only not..., but on the contrary…”.
or 不但没…
不仅不… or 不仅没…
不只不… or 不只没…
不光不… or 不光没…
All these phrases are similar to 反而 but emphasize an unexpected result. It can be translated as “not only not..., but on the contrary…”.Examples
喝了这杯饮料，我不但没解渴，反而还渴了
Drinking this not only didn’t quench my thirst, but rather made me more thirsty
hē le zhè bēi yǐnliào, wǒ búdàn méi jiěkě, fǎn'ér hái kě le
他不但不给我发微信，反而拉黑我了
Not only did he not send me a message in WeChat, but he also blocked me
tā búdàn bù gěi wǒ fā wēixìn, fǎn'ér lāhēi wǒ le
The adverb 反倒
反倒 is more colloquial than 反而.
We should state it in the second part of a sentence before a predicate. The predicate can be expressed by either an adjective or a verb.
is more colloquial than 反而.
We should state it in the second part of a sentence before a predicate. The predicate can be expressed by either an adjective or a verb. Pay attention
We can shorten 反倒 to 倒.
Examples
你越多注意孩子的坏行为，他反倒会更调皮
The more you pay attention to your child's bad behavior, the more naughty he will be
nǐ yuè duō zhùyì háizi de huài xíngwéi, tā fǎndào huì gèng tiáopí
雪停了，反倒冷了
Although it stopped snowing, it got colder
xuě tíng le, fǎndào lěng le
不吃药 ，病倒慢慢好了
Even though I didn’t take medication, I slowly got better
bù chī yào, bìng dǎo mànman hǎo le
反倒 can also be stated at the beginning of a sentence in the meaning of “but”, “on the other hand”.
Examples
反倒很多人不支持他
On the contrary, many people do not support him
fǎndào hěn duō rén bù zhīchí tā
反倒在罗马的时候，他殷勤的找我，并且找着了
When I was in Rome, he looked hard for me and found me
fǎndào zài luómǎ de shíhòu, yīnqín de zhǎo wǒ, bìngqiě zhǎozháo le
We also use 反倒 as part of the construction 不但…，反倒…
Examples
树与花都需要水，但过多的水不但无益，反倒有害
Trees need water to grow up, and flowers need water to bloom. But too much water can no longer be helpful — it can only hinder their growth and even kill them
shù yú huā dōu xūyào shuǐ, dàn guòduō de shuǐ bú dàn wúyì, fǎndào yǒuhài
风不但没停，反倒越来越大了
Not only did the wind not stop, but it got stronger and stronger
fēng bú dàn méi tíng, fǎndào yuè lái yuè dà le