Dictionary › 倒是

倒是

dào shi

HSK 3.0 level 6 2-character word

倒是 (dào shi) means "contrary to what one might expect; actually; contrariwise". It is an HSK 3.0 level 6 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 倒是 means

1. contrary to what one might expect
2. actually
3. contrariwise
4. why don't you

The characters in 倒是

• 倒dǎoto fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow
• 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true…

Example sentences

• 这倒是事实。
  That’s actually the truth.
• 这件衣服样式倒是挺好，就是贵了点儿。
  Zhè jiàn yīfu yàngshì dàoshi tǐnghǎo, jiùshì guì le diǎnr.
  The design of these clothes is indeed rather nice, but they are a little expensive.
• 我倒是很想去看电影，可是不确定有没有时间。
  I’d certainly like to go and watch a film, but I’m not sure if I have time.
• 我倒是很想去看这场比赛，可是不知道有没有时间。
  Wǒ dàoshi hěn xiǎng qù kàn zhè chǎng bǐsài, kěshì bù zhīdào yǒuméiyǒu shíjiān.
  I do really want to watch this match, but I'm not sure if I have the time.
• 那你倒是跟我解释一下，为什么你的手机里会有莉玛的照片。
  Then explain to me why you have Rima's pictures on your phone.

Words containing 倒是

• 那倒是nà dào shiOh that's true! (interjection of sudden realization)
• 颠倒是非diān dǎo shì fēi(idiom) to distort right and wrong; to deliberately mislead

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read dào shi correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.