則grammar point · tier 1 · 則 — by contrast, as for (a written clause-internal turn against the first item)
· zé
Written clause-internal conjunction: the first clause sets one item, the second clause's topic takes 則 and is gauged by contrast against it (whereas / by contrast / as for).
字源 FORM what the parts do
A cowrie (貝), the valued thing, and a knife (刂) at the right that carves it to an even measure: the fixed standard, the rule. Each item gets read against that measure, so the conjunction sets one item, then gauges the next by it. 則 sits inside the second clause, after its topic, and weighs that topic against the one just set.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
One side of the cut already measured and laid down; the knife lifts to the next piece, and 則 reads its measure against the first.
字源記憶法自撰
框 · Frame
[clause A, item 1], [topic B] 則 [predicate weighed against A]
觸 · Trigger
Two items set side by side in a formal register; the second is drawn against the first, not as a consequence of it.
序 · The move
1State clause A — the first item, with its own measure or property.Is A a standing item the second can be weighed against, not a condition the second follows from?
2Open clause B with its topic, then place 則 right after that topic, before the predicate.則 sits inside B after the topic — never at the clause head like a sentence connector.
3Let the predicate of B run against A's — a paired contrast, parallel items measured the other way.If the second clause is a prompt consequence of the first rather than a contrast, colloquial 就 fits; 則 keeps the formal weighing tone.
例 · Examples
1電動車electric car不會污染to pollute空氣air，缺點drawback; shortcoming則by contrast; as for (this one)是價格price偏高on the high side。
Electric cars don't pollute the air; their drawback, by contrast, is the steep price.
就 lands a prompt consequence behind the first event (A happens, B follows right after). 則 weighs the second topic against the first as a parallel contrast, no consequence implied. 就 chains; 則 contrasts.
倒（是） concedes A then tips the predicate the other way with a speaker's 'actually'. 則 sets two items flatly side by side and measures one against the other — a balanced written contrast, not a conceding turn.
卻 marks a sharp reversal — the predicate runs counter to what A led you to expect. 則 need not defeat an expectation; it pairs two items and reads the second against the first, the neutral 'whereas' of formal prose.
✗ 則缺點是價格偏高。 → ✓ 缺點則是價格偏高。 (則 sits after the topic, not at the clause head)
✗ 電動車不會污染空氣，價格偏高則是缺點。 → ✓ 電動車不會污染空氣，缺點則是價格偏高。 (則 follows the contrasted topic 缺點, weighing it against the first item)
✗ 你回到家則打電話給我。 → ✓ 你回到家就打電話給我。 (a prompt consequence takes 就, not the contrastive 則)
English 'whereas / as for' floats to the clause front; learners front 則 the same way. 則 stays buried after the topic, on the predicate, and belongs to a formal written register where the spoken 就 would feel out of place.