What does the expression 方便倒是方便 mean?

Question

"方便倒是方便" seems like a fixed expression, and from context it seems to be rejecting "is it convenient?" as a reason for doing something. I can't find an actual definition, though.

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 03 '19 at 02:51

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方便倒是方便 roughly means though it's convenient. Usually it goes like 方便倒是方便, 可是 ... ... It implies there could be some other negative factors or concerns (though it's convenient).

E.g. (quote from online):

方便火锅方便倒是方便, 其安全性又是另外一回事。

edited Nov 03 '19 at 02:51

Mou某

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answered Nov 02 '19 at 04:33

dan

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Here's another (perhaps simpler) example from online: 我听说可以在出国前提前拿到国外手机号码,方便倒是方便,但是真有这个必要吗? – Becky 李蓓 Nov 02 '19 at 04:36

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 03 '19 at 02:07

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Without getting too wordy in translation:

你方便帮我取下包裹吗？
Could you pick up my parcel for me?

方便倒是方便，但是我现在还有别的事要做。
Yes, but right now I have something else to do.

方便倒是方便 here = yes

answered Nov 03 '19 at 02:07

Pedroski

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What does the expression 方便倒是方便 mean?

2 Answers2