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Meaning: Unluckily of all times, wilfully insist on
我让他别去,他偏偏要去。
Wǒ ràng tā bié qù, tā piānpiān yào qù.
I told him not to go, yet he stubbornly insisted on going.
天偏偏在我们出发时下起了大雨。
Tiān piānpiān zài wǒmen chūfā shí xiàqǐle dàyǔ.
As bad luck would have it, the sky started pouring rain right when we set off.
我不喜欢吃辣,可这家店偏偏只做川菜。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan chī là, kě zhè jiā diàn piānpiān zhǐ zuò chuāncài.
I don't like eating spicy food, yet this restaurant happens to serve only Sichuan cuisine.
•偏偏 indicates an ironic, unwelcome coincidence (carrying a tone of complaint, opposite to 恰好/正好), whereas 偏要/偏不 emphasize stubborn, deliberate defiance against advice.
⚠️ Common Mistakes:
•Using 偏偏 for a happy, welcome coincidence — use 恰好 or 正好 instead.
•Confusing 偏要 (subjective stubbornness) with 偏偏 when describing inanimate events (e.g., the weather cannot "偏要下雨" unless personified).
•Mistranslating 偏偏 as an intensifier meaning "very" — it expresses contrariness, not degree.
•Ignoring the speaker's frustrated or complaining tone when interpreting 偏偏 in listening or reading comprehension.
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众人都同意,偏他一人反对。
Zhòngrén dōu tóngyì, piān tā yī rén fǎnduì.
Everyone else agreed; he alone opposed it.
