倒是 dào shì

倒是 (dào shì) Structure – Learn how to express contrary expectations and partial agreement in Chinese using 倒是 (dào shì)

Contrary to Expectations

倒是 (dào shì) is used to indicate an opposite opinion or result that goes against what is generally expected. It carries the meaning of “on the contrary,” “but actually,” or “and yet.”

Common Opinion + 倒是 + Contrary Opinion

Contrary Expectation Flow

General Expectation

他们都说不好看

They say it’s not nice.

what most people think

倒是 (contrary)

Contrary Opinion

我觉得不错

I think it’s not bad.

my different opinion

Complete Sentence: 他们都说不好看，我倒是觉得不错。
They all say it’s not good, but I actually think it’s not bad.

Examples of Contrary Expectations

Situation	Chinese	English Translation	Audio
Contrary opinion	人们都说开车很难，我倒是觉得挺简单。 rénmen dōu shuō kāichē hěnnán, wǒ dàoshì juéde tǐnɡ jiǎndān.	Everyone says driving is difficult, but I actually think it’s quite simple.
Unexpected taste	这道菜看起来不太好看，吃起来倒是很好吃。 zhè dào cài kàn qǐlái bú tài hǎokàn, chī qǐlái dào shì hěn hǎochī.	This dish doesn’t look very appealing, but it actually tastes delicious.

Dialogue Examples

学汉语太无聊了。

xué hànyǔ tài wúliáo le.

Learning Chinese is too boring.

我倒是觉得挺有意思的。

wǒ dào shì juéde tǐng yǒu yìsi de.

On the contrary, I think it’s quite interesting.

这部电影好看吗？

zhè bù diànyǐng hǎokàn ma?

Is this movie good?

他们都说不好看，我倒是觉得不错。

tāmen dōu shuō bù hǎokàn, wǒ dào shì juéde búcuò.

They all say it’s not good, but I actually think it’s not bad.

Expressing Partial Agreement

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Practice Exercises