Chinese word dictionary

倒是

dàoshì · contrary to what one might expect; actually; contrariwise; why don't you

Practice word

Word information

Simplified倒是

Traditional倒是

Pinyindàoshì

Part of speech副

HSK 3.06

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

倒dào

to collapse, to fall over; to lie down

是shì

to be; yes

How to learn 倒是

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

是shì

to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]

但是dànshì

but; however

还是háishi

still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or

可是kěshì

but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed

只是zhǐshì

merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however

总是zǒngshì

always