恰恰（是）…
precisely; it was exactly … (that); of all things
Structure
恰恰（是） ＋ 强调的部分 · …恰恰相反
What it means
Points at the very thing, usually one that goes against expectation: “precisely; it was exactly … that”.
How it is built
恰恰是 + stressed part (+让/使…): 恰恰是古书里的一句话，让她想到了低温提取 (It was precisely one line in an old book that gave her the idea). 恰恰相反 = quite the opposite.
When to use it
正是 simply confirms “this is the one”; 恰恰 adds that it is the opposite of what you’d expect, so it suits a twist or a rebuttal. Met as a word in 6-26.
Watch out
As a pattern it stands before 是, not after: ✗是恰恰这句话 ✓恰恰是这句话。
Examples
恰恰是古书里的一句话，让她想到了低温提取。
It was precisely one line in an old book that gave her the idea of low-temperature extraction.
你以为他不在乎，其实他恰恰是最在乎的那个人。
You think he doesn’t care, but he is precisely the one who cares most.
很多人以为喝酒能暖身子，事实恰恰相反：喝酒以后，身体会更快地失去热量。
Many people think a drink warms you up; the truth is just the opposite: after drinking, the body loses heat faster.
Learn this in Lesson 158 · HSK 7–9: 青蒿素 (Artemisinin: from an old recipe to a Nobel Prize)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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