Usage note
反表示相反或反过来。
fǎn biǎo shì xiāng fǎn huò fǎn guò lái。
反 means opposite or reverse.
Context note
反常用于方向、对立和变化。
fǎn cháng yòng yú fāng xiàng 、 duì lì hé biàn huà。
It is often used with direction, opposition, and change.
5 examples
方向反了。
fāng xiàng fǎn le。
The direction is reversed.
他的话正反都能听懂。
tā de huà zhèng fǎn dōu néng tīng dǒng。
His words can be understood both forward and backward.
黑白相反。
hēi bái xiāng fǎn。
Black and white are opposite.
不要反着做。
bú yào fǎn zhe zuò。
Do not do it in reverse.
事情有点反。
shì qíng yǒu diǎn fǎn。
The matter is a bit opposite.
5 mini stories
他把书反过来看。
tā bǎ shū fǎn guò lái kàn。
He turned the book over to look at it.
颜色的反差很明显。
yán sè de fǎn chā hěn míng xiǎn。
The color contrast is obvious.
老师说不要把顺序弄反。
lǎo shī shuō bú yào bǎ shùn xù nòng fǎn。
The teacher said not to reverse the order.
他觉得这个道理有点反。
tā jué de zhè ge dào lǐ yǒu diǎn fǎn。
He felt this reasoning was a bit opposite.
把纸反一反，更容易写。
bǎ zhǐ fǎn yi fǎn， gèng róng yì xiě。
Turn the paper over, and it is easier to write.
Mini dialogue
穿反了
A
你的T恤好像穿反了。
Nǐ de T xù hǎoxiàng chuān fǎn le.
Your T-shirt seems to be on backwards.
B
啊，真的吗？我马上换过来。
À, zhēn de ma? Wǒ mǎshàng huàn guòlái.
Oh, really? I'll change it right away.
相反的方向
A
地铁站是往这边走吗？
Dìtiě zhàn shì wǎng zhè biān zǒu ma?
Is the subway station this way?
B
不对，你走反了，应该往那边走。
Bù duì, nǐ zǒu fǎn le, yīnggāi wǎng nà biān zǒu.
No, you're going the opposite way. You should go that way.
Related words and contrasts
opposite
正
zhèng
front; right side; positive
反 means opposite or reverse; 正 means the front or correct side.
similar
倒
dào
upside down; inverted
Both can mean reversed, but 倒 often refers to physical inversion.
similar
逆
nì
contrary; go against
逆 means going against the normal direction, similar to 反 in some contexts.