Counterproductive - 起到反作用 - how to parse? I learned that in Chinese counterproductive is 起到反作用 or 起反作用
I'm trying to figure out what the characters or words mean in this phrase.
I know 作用 means result or effect here, 反 means opposite. How does 起 fit in here and what part of speech is it? Is 到 necessary, or is it a completed action marker here?
Many thanks!
I think you can see it nicely here:
作为回应采取了一些措施，
Some measures adopted in response,
比如限制出口，
such as export restrictions,
起到了强烈的反作用。
led to (a) strong counter-effect. = have been highly counterproductive.
起到： give rise to
反作用： opposite, counter-effect