倒
是

About

The Chinese word 倒是 is formed by combining the character 倒, which conveys notions of reversal or contrast, with the character 是, which denotes affirmation or truth, resulting in a compound that functions as an adverb or conjunction to express contrast or soften a statement, often equivalent to "on the contrary" or "actually" in English.

Example Sentences Hide

他倒是很聪明。

Tā dàoshì hěn cōngmíng.

He is indeed very smart.

我倒是想去，但是没时间。

Wǒ dàoshì xiǎng qù, dànshì méi shíjiān.

I would like to go, but I don't have time.

你如果帮忙，倒是能解决这个问题。

Nǐ rúguǒ bāngmáng, dàoshì néng jiějué zhège wèntí.

If you help, it could actually solve this problem.

尽管天气不好，他倒是坚持完成了比赛。

Jǐnguǎn tiānqì bù hǎo, tā dàoshì jiānchí wánchéng le bǐsài.

Despite the bad weather, he actually persisted and completed the race.

对于这个提议，大家倒是没有反对，只是有些疑虑。

Duìyú zhège tíyì, dàjiā dàoshì méiyǒu fǎnduì, zhǐshì yǒuxiē yílǜ.

Regarding this proposal, everyone didn't object, but they had some concerns.

Word Definition - 倒是

dào shi contrary to what one might expect; actually; contrariwise; why don't you

Individual Character Details

倒 dǎo, dào
是 shì, shì