au contraire

English

Etymology

Borrowing from French au contraire

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌəʊ ˈkɒn.tɹɜː(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /%@U "kQn.tr3:(r)/

Adverb

au contraire (not comparable)

1. on the contrary

Usage notes

Used for more humorous, ironic, or dramatic effect than on the contrary.

Translations

on the contrary

• Bulgarian: напротив (bg) (naprotiv)
• Czech: právě naopak (cs)
• Dutch: integendeel (nl)
• French: au contraire (fr)
• German: im Gegenteil (de)
• Haitian Creole: okontrè
• Hindi: उल्टे

• Icelandic: þvert á móti (is), á hinn bóginn (is), hins vegar (is)
• Italian: al contrario (it)
• Latin: sed contra (la)
• Portuguese: ao contrário (pt), pelo contrário (pt)
• Russian: наоборот (ru) (naoborot)
• Spanish: en contrario (es), por el contrario (es)
• Ukrainian: навпаки (uk) (navpaky)

References

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French

Adverb

au contraire

1. on the contrary, quite the opposite