偏偏 (piānpiān) vs 偏 (piān)

偏偏 (piānpiān) vs 偏 (piān)

偏偏

As an adverb

1. 偏偏 means “only”. It indicates the speaker’s dissatisfaction. 偏 cannot be used in the following cases.

偏偏（+ 只有）+ somebody / something

e.g.

大家都在努力学习，偏偏只有他在玩游戏。(Dàjiā dōu zài nǔlì xuéxí, piānpiān zhǐyǒu tā zài wán yóuxì.) Everyone is studying hard, but he is the only one playing games.

全家人都准备睡觉了，可偏偏孩子这时候饿了。(Quánjiā rén dōu zhǔnbèi shuìjiàole, kě piānpiān háizi zhè shíhòu è le.) The whole family is ready to go to bed, but the child is hungry at this time.

同事们都觉得我的想法很棒，偏偏只有老板不喜欢。(Tóngshìmen dōu juédé wǒ de xiǎngfǎ hěn bàng, piānpiān zhǐyǒu lǎobǎn bù xǐhuān.) Colleagues think my idea is great, but only the boss doesn’t like it.

偏偏（+ 只）+ Verb

e.g.

老师谁都不骂，为什么偏偏只骂你？(Lǎoshī shéi dōu bú mà, wèishéme piānpiān zhǐ mà nǐ?) The teacher doesn’t scold anyone, so why just scold you?

这里有那么多好吃的东西，可你偏偏只吃米饭。(Zhè li yǒu nàme duō hǎo chī de dōngxi, kě nǐ piānpiān zhǐ chī mǐfàn.) There are so many delicious things here, but you only eat rice.

那么多人喜欢她，可她偏偏只喜欢这个普通的男孩。(Nàme duō rén xǐhuān tā, kě tā piānpiān zhǐ xǐhuān zhège pǔtōng de nánhái.) So many people like her, but she just likes this ordinary boy.

2. When emphasizing that something is not going well and is against somebody’s will, wish, or objective situation, 偏偏 is more often used. Note that 偏偏 is used before or after the subject, while 偏 is only used after the subject.

e.g.

我想喝咖啡，可最近的咖啡店偏偏关门了。(Wǒ xiǎng hē kāfēi, kě zuìjìn de kāfēi diàn piānpiān guānménle.) I want to drink coffee, but the nearest coffee shop is closed.

我们打算周末去杭州，但是偏偏公司要求所有人加班，所以不能去了。(Wǒmen dǎsuàn zhōumò qù Hángzhōu, dànshì piānpiān gōngsī yāoqiú suǒyǒu rén jiābān, suǒyǐ bùnéng qùle.) We plan to go to Hangzhou this weekend, but the company asks everyone to work overtime, so we can’t go.

我想要一件红色的衣服，妈妈偏偏给我买了一件黑色的。(Wǒ xiǎng yào yíjiàn hóngsè de yīfu, māma piānpiān gěi wǒ mǎile yíjiàn hēisè de.) I want a red dress, but my mother bought me a black one.

偏

As an adverb

偏 emphasizes deliberately going against somebody’s will or wish. Even though 偏偏 can be used to replace 偏 here, 偏 is more often used in this case.

Somebody + 偏 + 要/不 + Verb

e.g.

有些孩子让老师头疼。你让他站，他偏要坐；你让他学习，他偏要聊天。(Yǒuxiē háizi ràng lǎoshī tóuténg. Nǐ ràng tā zhàn, tā piān yào zuò; nǐ ràng tā xuéxí, tā piān yào liáotiān.) Some children make the teacher a headache. If you let him stand, he wants to sit; if you let him study, he wants to chat.

这件事明明是他的错，可他偏不承认。(Zhè jiàn shì míngmíng shì tā de cuò, kě tā piān bù chéngrèn.) It was obviously his fault, but he refused to admit it.

大家都觉得这次比赛我肯定会输，我偏要赢！(Dàjiā dōu juédé zhè cì bǐsài wǒ kěndìng huì shū, wǒ piān yào yíng!) Everyone thinks that I will definitely lose this game, but I will win!

As an adjective

偏means slanting, inclined to one side, or prejudiced.

1. It’s often used to modify the noun. Note that there is usually no “的”.

e.g.

偏见 (piānjiàn) prejudice, bias

偏心 (piānxīn) partiality

偏向 (piānxiàng) erroneous tendency

2. It’s used to function as the predicate or complement. There are often other elements before or after it.

e.g.

太阳已经偏西了。(Tàiyáng yǐjīng piān xīl e.) The sun is already westward.

这栋房子的位置太偏了。(Zhè dòng fángzi de wèizhì tài piān le.) The position of this house is too far off.

这幅画挂得有些偏。(Zhè fú huà guà de yǒuxiē piān.) The picture is hung a little off.

这个字写得有点儿偏。(Zhège zì xiě de yǒudiǎnr piān.) This character is a little bit off.

有些人的人生道路走偏了，但是他们自己不知道。(Yǒuxiē rén de rénshēng dàolù zǒu piān le, dànshì tāmen zìjǐ bù zhīdào.) Some people have gone wrong in life, but they don’t know it.

3. It’s used to indicate placing particular emphasis on one side.

偏 + 于

e.g.

这个学校偏于素质教育，隔壁学校偏于应试教育。(Zhège xuéxiào piān yú sùzhì jiàoyù, gébì xuéxiào piān yú yìngshì jiàoyù.) This school is biased towards quality education, and the school next door is biased towards exam-oriented education.

我们公司更偏于技术，而不是营销。(Wǒmen gōngsī gèng piān yú jìshù, ér búshì yíngxiāo.) Our company is more inclined to technology than marketing.

一些老师偏于教学，一些老师偏于研究。(Yìxiē lǎoshī piān yú jiàoxué, yìxiē lǎoshī piān yú yánjiū.) Some teachers are more inclined to teach, some teachers are more inclined to research.