5 · Adverbs that carry the grammar
Adverbs of attitude: jiǎnzhí, jīhū, piānpiān, fǎnzhèng, bìjìng
how the speaker feels about the fact
Five adverbs that add no facts but tell the listener how to take them.
These five words change nothing about what happened. They tell the listener how the speaker feels about it — the work English does with intonation and with small words such as “just”, “anyway” and “after all”. Like all adverbs they stand before the verb or adjective; 反正 and 偏偏 also like the front of the clause.
简直, “simply, practically”, exaggerates on purpose: 这简直是做梦, “this is like a dream”. 几乎, “almost”, is its sober neighbour: it measures, and often stands before 所有, 每 or 没有 — 几乎每天, “almost every day”.
偏偏 says that reality went against what was wanted — “of all things, just when” — or that someone stubbornly does the opposite: 他偏偏不听, “he just won’t listen”. 反正, “anyway, whatever happens”, shrugs: the outcome is the same either way. 毕竟, “after all”, offers a fact that should make the listener understand: 他毕竟还是个孩子.
English speakers tend to leave these words out, and the Chinese is then correct and colourless. Used well, a single one of them carries as much as a sentence of explanation; used wrongly, it gives the listener the wrong feeling, which is harder to notice than a wrong fact.
The form
| simply, practically | 这简直是做梦。 |
| almost | 我几乎每天都跑步。 |
| of all times | 我正要出门，偏偏下雨了。 |
| anyway | 反正还早，我们走着去吧。 |
| after all | 他毕竟才学了半年。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
简直 exaggerates on purpose, often with 太…了 or 像.
他做的菜简直太好吃了！The food he cooks is simply delicious!
几乎 is a sober “almost”, often before 所有, 每 or 没有.
几乎所有的人都同意了。Almost everybody agreed.
偏偏 says that reality went against what was wanted or expected.
我没带伞，今天偏偏下了大雨。I didn’t bring an umbrella, and today of all days it poured.
反正 says the conclusion stays the same whatever happens.
你去不去都行，反正我要去。Go or don’t, as you like — I’m going anyway.
毕竟 gives a fact that should make the listener understand.
别怪他，他毕竟还是个孩子。Don’t blame him — he is only a child, after all.
A closer look
Why these words resist translation
A dictionary gives one English word for each, and none of them is quite right, because the English equivalent often lives in the voice rather than in a word. 偏偏 is the sigh in “and of course it rained”. 反正 is the shrug in “I’m going anyway”. Reading them as attitudes rather than as vocabulary is what makes them usable.
For “nearly” in a near miss, spoken Chinese prefers 差点儿: 我差点儿忘了, “I nearly forgot”. 几乎 is equally correct and a little more neutral, and it is the only one of the two that works before quantities: 几乎一半, “almost half”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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偏 stands alone before 要
it means “insist on doing”, deliberately against advice.
不让他去，他偏要去。We told him not to go, and he insisted on going.
The single syllable keeps the stubborn meaning and drops the sense of bad luck that 偏偏 often has.
How to spot it
- 简直
- 几乎
- 偏偏
- 反正
- 毕竟
Example sentences
今天热得要命，简直像在蒸笼里。It’s unbearably hot today — like being inside a steamer.
我几乎忘了今天是你的生日。I almost forgot that today is your birthday.
大家都劝他，他偏偏不听。Everyone tried to talk him round, but he just wouldn’t listen.
别着急，反正时间还多着呢。Don’t rush — there’s plenty of time anyway.
他的中文有些错误，但他毕竟只学了一年。His Chinese has a few mistakes, but after all he has only studied for a year.
你这样做简直是浪费时间。Doing it this way is simply a waste of time.
7 more example sentences
他们俩长得简直一模一样。The two of them look practically identical.
这条街上几乎没有人。There is almost nobody in this street.
我好不容易有一天假，偏偏又生病了。I finally get a day off, and of course I fall ill.
反正我也没事，我陪你去吧。I’ve got nothing on anyway — I’ll come with you.
这件事毕竟过去很多年了，别再提了。That was many years ago, after all — let’s not bring it up again.
他每天工作十二个小时，几乎没有休息的时间。He works twelve hours a day and has almost no time to rest.
你信不信都没关系，反正这是真的。Believe it or not, it’s true anyway.
Worth knowing (1)
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Bìjìng and dàodǐ
In a statement, 到底 can also mean “after all”, but 毕竟 is the usual word for it, especially in careful speech and in writing. It typically comes in the clause that gives the reason, and the other clause asks the listener to be fair.
她毕竟是第一次出国，有点儿紧张很正常。It’s her first time abroad, after all; being a little nervous is normal.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “practically” can mean both “almost” and “simply”. Chinese splits them. A near miss — I was nearly late — is a measurement, and takes 几乎 (or, in speech, 差点儿). 简直 does not measure anything; it raises a degree to make a point.
Jīhū measures, jiǎnzhí exaggerates, piānpiān complains, fǎnzhèng shrugs, and bìjìng asks for understanding.
Your turn
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