偏偏 (piānpiān) is one of those tricky adverbs in Chinese that can make learners scratch their heads. It’s subtle, nuanced, and often expresses a twist of fate or unexpected outcome.
偏偏 is usually used in the second clause of a sentence to indicate that something contrary to expectations has happened. There are generally two types of expectations it refers to:
Objective expectations – rules, logic, or necessity.
Hopes or desires – what someone wants or expects emotionally.
In short, 偏偏 often conveys a sense of “despite everything” or “contrary to what you might expect.”
Structure:
A, Subject + 偏偏 + B
Sample Sentences
明明我不喜欢吃辣，偏偏那道菜非常辣。I clearly don’t like spicy food, but that dish was extremely spicy.
我想早点睡，可偏偏邻居开始吵架。I wanted to go to bed early, but of course the neighbors started arguing.
他考试本来可以及格，偏偏最后一道题做错了。He could have passed the exam, but he got the last question wrong.
In a Text
昨天我早早起床，想去公园跑步。明明天气预报说会下雨，可天偏偏晴了，阳光很大。我很高兴，决定多跑一会儿。可是，我刚出门没多久，鞋带偏偏松了，我差点摔倒。跑步的时候，我遇到了老朋友，本来想打个招呼，偏偏他没看到我。
回家的路上，我想顺便去买一杯咖啡，可咖啡店偏偏关门了。我只好去附近的便利店，可偏偏只剩下最贵的咖啡。我拿着咖啡走在路上，突然下起了小雨，可雨偏偏很轻，我的心情却因此变得愉快。回到家后，我本想好好休息一下，偏偏快递来了，把我吵醒了。
尽管今天有那么多小意外，我偏偏觉得这是一个有趣的一天。生活总是这样，偏偏让人又气又开心。
鞋带 (xiédài): shoelace
顺便 (shùnbiàn): conveniently; on the way; while doing something else
快递 (kuàidì): express delivery; courier/package delivery
Yesterday I got up early, planning to go for a run in the park. The weather forecast clearly said it would rain, but it was sunny instead, and the sun was very strong. I was happy and decided to run a little longer. However, shortly after leaving, my shoelace came undone—I almost fell. While running, I met an old friend; I wanted to say hi, but of course he didn’t see me.
On the way home, I wanted to buy a cup of coffee, but the café was closed. I had to go to a nearby convenience store, but of course, they only had the most expensive coffee left. I walked with my coffee when it suddenly started raining lightly, but the rain was just gentle enough that it actually lifted my mood. When I got home, I wanted to rest for a while, but of course, a package arrived and woke me up.
Despite all the small mishaps today, I somehow felt it was an interesting day. Life is always like this, full of little annoyances—and little joys too.
