却/倒: unexpected contrast
却 (què) and 倒 (dào) are adverbs that mark an unexpected contrast, placed right after the subject of the second clause. 却 marks a contrast the listener would not expect, while 倒 is a more colloquial, milder twist.
Position: immediately after the subject of the second clause (they are adverbs, not conjunctions).
| Word | Register | Nuance |
|------|----------|--------|
| 却 | neutral/formal | strong unexpected contrast |
| 倒 | colloquial | softer irony or mild concession |
✅ 他明明很聪明，成绩却很差。(Smart but somehow bad grades — unexpected)
✅ 我以为很难，做起来倒挺简单。(Thought it'd be hard; turned out easy — mild surprise)
Common mistake: 却/倒 cannot start a sentence — they need a subject before them.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 他努力练习了很久，比赛的成绩却不太理想。 | Tā nǔ lì liàn xí le hěn jiǔ, bǐ sài de chéng jī què bù tài lǐ xiǎng. | He practised hard for a long time, yet his competition results were not ideal. | 却 signals the unexpected gap between effort and result |
| 我以为这件事很容易，没想到做起来倒挺复杂的。 | Wǒ yǐ wéi zhè jiàn shì hěn róng yì, méi xiǎng dào zuò qǐ lái dào tǐng fù zá de. | I thought this would be easy; surprisingly, doing it turned out to be quite complicated. | 倒 softens the reversal (colloquial); 挺 adds casual register |
| 大家都担心她会哭，她倒笑着说没关系。 | Dà jiā dōu dān xīn tā huì kū, tā dào xiào zhe shuō méi guān xi. | Everyone worried she would cry, but she actually laughed it off and said it was fine. | 倒 + mild irony: others' worry is confounded by her actual calm reaction |
Word by word
Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.
却 (què)
Marks a contrast the listener would not expect from the first clause.
Structure: subject + 却 + verb phrase
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 他说他很忙，却整天在玩游戏。 | Tā shuō tā hěn máng, què zhěng tiān zài wán yóu xì. | He said he was busy, yet he plays games all day. |
| 天气预报说会下雨，今天却是大晴天。 | Tiān qì yù bào shuō huì xià yǔ, jīn tiān què shì dà qíng tiān. | The forecast said rain, but today turned out sunny. |
| 她很想去，却没有时间。 | Tā hěn xiǎng qù, què méi yǒu shí jiān. | She wants to go very much, but has no time. |
Not: 却他没来。 却 comes after the subject: 他却没来.
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 4, adverbs (关联副词); level 6, complex sentences (转折复句).
却 is also explained in: 虽然…但是…: although…but (HSK 4).
倒 (dào)
A colloquial word for a mild twist: the result is better or different than expected.
Structure: subject + 倒 + verb phrase
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这家店看起来很小，里面倒挺大的。 | Zhè jiā diàn kàn qǐ lái hěn xiǎo, lǐ miàn dào tǐng dà de. | The shop looks small, but inside it is actually quite big. |
| 你不说我倒忘了，今天是你的生日。 | Nǐ bù shuō wǒ dào wàng le, jīn tiān shì nǐ de shēng rì. | If you had not said, I would have forgotten, it is your birthday today. |
| 大家以为考试很难，我做完倒觉得很简单。 | Dà jiā yǐ wéi kǎo shì hěn nán, wǒ zuò wán dào jué de hěn jiǎn dān. | Everyone thought the exam was hard, but after doing it I found it quite easy. |
Not: 倒我觉得很好。 倒 is an adverb and needs a subject before it: 我倒觉得很好.
Compared side by side: 却 vs 但是.
Questions about 却/倒
What does 却/倒 mean in Chinese?
却 (què) and 倒 (dào) are adverbs that mark an unexpected contrast, placed right after the subject of the second clause. 却 marks a contrast the listener would not expect, while 倒 is a more colloquial, milder twist. It is an HSK 4 grammar point.
How do you use 却/倒 in a sentence?
他努力练习了很久，比赛的成绩却不太理想。 — Tā nǔ lì liàn xí le hěn jiǔ, bǐ sài de chéng jī què bù tài lǐ xiǎng. — He practised hard for a long time, yet his competition results were not ideal. 却 signals the unexpected gap between effort and result.
Where does 却/倒 come in the HSK sequence?
HSK 4, and none of its prerequisites are grammar points — nothing else on this reference has to come first, so you can start here.
What is the difference between 却 and 但是?
但是 is a conjunction and can start the sentence: 但是他没来. 却 is an adverb and must follow the subject: 他却没来. They can also appear together in the same sentence: 他很想来，但是却没有时间.
却/倒 is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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