偏偏
HSK 4- Emphasis
Structure (结构 jiégòu)
Meaning (意思 yìsi)
The adverb 偏偏 expresses that something happens contrary to one's wishes, to what is normally expected, or in a deliberate manner.
Explanation (解释 jiěshì)
The adverb 偏偏 (piānpiān) is used to emphasize that something happens contrary to one's wishes, intentions, or what would normally be expected, often carrying a tone of frustration or helplessness.
It has two main meanings:
- Contrary to one's wishes (unfortunate):
我想出门，天偏偏下雨了。(I wanted to go out, but it just had to rain.) - Deliberately doing the opposite:
妈妈不让他去，他偏偏要去。(His mother wouldn't let him go, yet he insisted on going anyway.)
Examples (例句 lìjù)(5)
- 我想出门，天偏偏下雨了。繁: 我想出門，天偏偏下雨了。Wǒ xiǎng chūmén, tiān piānpiān xià yǔ le.
I wanted to go out, but it just had to rain.
- 大家都不理他，我偏偏想帮他。繁: 大家都不理他，我偏偏想幫他。Dàjiā dōu bù lǐ tā, wǒ piānpiān xiǎng bāng tā.
Everyone ignores him, yet I still want to help him.
- 我刚到车站，车偏偏开走了。繁: 我剛到車站，車偏偏開走了。Wǒ gāng dào chēzhàn, chē piānpiān kāi zǒu le.
I had just arrived at the bus station when the bus happened to drive off.
- 让他往东，他偏偏往西。繁: 讓他往東，他偏偏往西。Ràng tā wǎng dōng, tā piānpiān wǎng xī.
Tell him to go east, but he insists on going west.
- 这么多词，我偏偏忘了这个。繁: 這麼多詞，我偏偏忘了這個。Zhème duō cí, wǒ piānpiān wàng le zhège.
Out of all these words, I happened to forget precisely this one.
Common mistakes
- Wrong:我喜欢苹果，他偏偏喜欢香蕉。Correct:我喜欢苹果，但是他喜欢香蕉。
偏偏 is used when there is a contradiction, intentionality, or bad luck, not merely to express ordinary difference.
- Wrong:偏偏我不让他去，他要去。Correct:我不让他去，他偏偏要去。
偏偏 is an adverb that typically comes after the subject and before the verb to modify the action.