opposite; contrary; on the contrary
HSK level
相反 is written with 13 strokes (相: 9, 反: 4). The animation replays automatically.
相反 (xiāngfǎn) means 'opposite' or 'contrary,' describing two things that point in reverse directions or hold reverse qualities.
It works as an adjective (方向相反, opposite directions; 意见相反, opposing opinions) and, placed at the start of a sentence, as a discourse connector meaning 'on the contrary' or 'instead.' English speakers should note two differences from 'opposite': first, 相反 is relational — it describes the relationship between two items and usually needs both to be present or implied, so you say A 和 B 相反 rather than calling one thing 'the opposite' alone (for that noun sense, use 反面 or 对立面).
Second, as a connector, 相反 signals that what follows overturns the previous expectation, much like English 'on the contrary,' and is a favorite of written argument. It contrasts with 相同 (identical) and 相似 (similar).
Note: Common in both speech and writing. As a sentence connector meaning 'on the contrary' (相反，...) it leans slightly formal or written.
Character by character
Memory hook: 相 (mutually) + 反 (reversed) = mutually reversed → opposite.
相反 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Browse the full episode library我们两个人的想法正好相反。
Wǒmen liǎng ge rén de xiǎngfǎ zhènghǎo xiāngfǎn.
The two of us think in exactly opposite ways.
spoken
他往相反的方向走了。
Tā wǎng xiāngfǎn de fāngxiàng zǒu le.
He walked off in the opposite direction.
neutral
我以为他会生气，相反，他笑了。
Wǒ yǐwéi tā huì shēngqì, xiāngfǎn, tā xiào le.
I thought he would be angry; on the contrary, he laughed.
written
这两个词的意思完全相反。
Zhè liǎng ge cí de yìsi wánquán xiāngfǎn.
These two words have completely opposite meanings.
neutral
相对 means 'relative / opposing' in a paired sense (relative to each other) and also 'comparatively.' Use 相反 for things that are true opposites; use 相对 when two things merely stand in relation or contrast without being reversals.
反之 is a formal written connector meaning 'conversely / otherwise.' 相反 is more common in speech; 反之 belongs to essays and formal argument.
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