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反话 (fǎn huà) — irony; sarcastic remark (saying the opposite of what you mean); facetious remark; joking opposite

Definition

反话 (fǎnhuà) is irony or a facetious remark — saying the opposite of what you really mean, often for humor or to make a point. Common in spoken teasing and light sarcasm.

noun
ironysarcastic remark (saying the opposite of what you mean)facetious remarkjoking opposite

Examples

  • 反话，。
    Tā shuō de dōu shì fǎn huà, nǐ bié dàng zhēn.
    Everything he said was irony; don't take it seriously.
  • 反话，。
    Tā xǐ huan yòng fǎn huà lái kāi wán xiào, dà jiā dōu hěn kāi xīn.
    She likes to use facetious remarks to joke, and everyone is very happy.
  • 反话，。
    Zhè jù huà tīng qǐ lái xiàng fǎn huà, dàn qí shí tā shì rèn zhēn de.
    This sentence sounds like irony, but actually he is serious.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

反fǎnopposite
话huàwords

反 means opposite and 话 means words, together meaning saying the opposite of what is meant.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng反fǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

Open 反 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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