倒 / 倒是【dào / dàoshì】

倒dào as an adverb goes after the subject, before the verb or adjective, and says that what follows runs against expectation. 倒是 means the same and is a little softer. Both belong to speech.

It often compares two people or things: one is as you'd expect, the other isn't.

Granting a point

倒是 between a repeated adjective or verb admits that something is true, then 就是 or 可是 brings the problem.

Pushing someone

你倒 + verb, often with 啊, is impatient: the speaker wants the listener to get on with it.

倒 or 到

The two sound the same. 到 is "arrive" or "to"; the adverb that turns a sentence around is always 倒.

• × 他到很高兴 → 他倒很高兴