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反而

Mandarin · pinyin fǎn ér

on the contrary; instead

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反: fǎn · reverse, opposite, contrary, anti
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · fan3 er2

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faan2 ji4

Cantonese word readings for 反而. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adv

on the contrary; to the contrary; instead

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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