反 (fǎn): contrary, in reverse, inside out or upside down
反 (fǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “contrary.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 厂 (structural) and 又 (structural). It ranks #237 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 反 a hand 又 held up against a cliff 厂. Its radical form 又 (again) appears in many related characters such as 友 (yǒu, friend), 又 (yòu, (once) again), 发 (fā, to send out).
Definitions
- contrary
- in reverse
- inside out or upside down
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand 又 held up against a cliff 厂
Decomposition: ⿸厂又 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 反 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 反
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 反应verb/noun | fǎn yìng | to react | 5 |
| 反正adverb | fǎn zhèng | anyway | 5 |
| 反对verb | fǎn duì | to oppose | 4 |
| 违反verb | wéi fǎn | to violate (a law) | 5 |
| 相反adjective/conjunction | xiāng fǎn | opposite | 4 |
| 反而adverb | fǎn ér | on the contrary | 5 |
| 反复adverb/verb/noun | fǎn fù | variant of 反覆|反复 | 5 |
| 反映verb | fǎn yìng | to mirror | 5 |
| 反馈verb | fǎn kuì | to send back information | 6 |
| 反思verb | fǎn sī | to think back over sth | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 反抗verb | fǎn kàng | to resist |
| 反击verb | fǎn jī | to strike back |
| 反常adjective | fǎn cháng | unusual |
| 反感noun | fǎn gǎn | to be disgusted with |
| 反射verb | fǎn shè | to reflect |
| 反驳verb | fǎn bó | to retort |
| 反省verb | fǎn xǐng | to reflect upon oneself |
| 恰恰相反 | qià qià xiāng fǎn | just the opposite |
| 反叛verb | fǎn pàn | to rebel |
| 反过来 | fǎn guo lái | conversely |
| 反悔verb | fǎn huǐ | to renege |
| 反面noun | fǎn miàn | reverse side |
| 化学反应 | huà xué fǎn yìng | chemical reaction |
| 反应堆noun | fǎn yìng duī | reactor |
| 造反verb | zào fǎn | to rebel |
反 appears in 110 compound words: 86 as the first character, 10 as the last, and 4 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 反 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (31)
to bring order out of chaos; to set right what have been thrown into disorder; to restore justice
to fight corruption and uphold integrity; to fight corruption and build a clean government
lit. the guest acts as host (idiom); fig. to turn from passive to active behavior
to fight corruption and uphold integrity; to fight corruption and build a clean government
Showing 12 of 31 idioms containing 反.
Example Sentences
恰恰相反，我认为这个方案非常可行。
Qiàqià xiāngfǎn, wǒ rènwéi zhè gè fāng'àn fēicháng kěxíng.
On the contrary, I think this plan is very feasible.
88%的阿拉伯民众反对承认以色列政权
8 8 de ā lā bó mín zhòng fǎn duì chéng rèn yǐ sè liè zhèng quán
88% of the Arab population opposes the recognition of the Israeli regime
拨乱反正:和委会还不如金砖上合
bō luàn fǎn zhèng : hé wěi huì hái bù rú jīn zhuān shàng gě
Rectify the chaos: the peace committee is not as good as the BRICS SCO
川普施压伊朗恐有反效果 使中东陷入新动荡
chuān pǔ shī yā yī lǎng kǒng yǒu fǎn xiào guǒ shǐ zhōng dōng xiàn rù xīn dòng dàng
Trump's pressure on Iran may have the opposite effect and plunge the Middle East into new turmoil
也门安全部队向反政府示威者开火 造成至少12人伤亡
yě mén ān quán bù duì xiàng fǎn zhèng fǔ shì wēi zhě kāi huǒ zào chéng zhì shǎo 1 2 rén shāng wáng
Yemeni security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrators, killing at least 12 people
原油价格大幅反弹 直线拉升
yuán yóu jiè gé dà fú fǎn dàn zhí xiàn lā shēng
Crude Oil Prices Rally Sharply Straight Up
你支持还是反对堕胎？
Nǐ zhīchí háishi fǎnduì duòtāi?
Are you for or against abortion?
谁不喜欢反叛者呢？
Shéi bù xǐhuan fǎnpàn zhě ne?
Who doesn't love a rebel?
玛丽不穷，相反，她相当富裕。
Mǎlì bù qióng, xiāngfǎn, tā xiāngdāng fùyù.
Mary is not poor. On the contrary, she is quite rich.
我母亲肯定会反对。
Wǒ mǔqīn kěndìng huì fǎnduì.
My mother is certain to say no.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 反 (fǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 反 and 外?
How many strokes does 反 have?
What is the radical of 反?
What are the components of 反?
What are common words containing 反?
What characters sound the same as 反 (fǎn)?
Is 反 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 反 with real-time feedback
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