zhongwen-obsidian/还hái.md

#adverb #还

还 as "also; additionally"

The adverb 还hái has a variety of meanings. One of the basic usages is to indicated "in addition to", "beside", or "on top of that":

(1) 我有三个姐姐，四个妹妹， 还有一个哥哥。 wǒ yǒu sānge jiějie, sìge mèime, hái yǒu yige gēge I have three elder sisters, one younger sister, in addition to one older brother.

还 vs 也

还 feels similar to 也yě, which means "also". We can even rephrase the previous sentence using 也:

(2) 我有三个姐姐， 四个妹妹， 也有一个哥哥。 wǒ yǒu sānge jiějie, sìge mèimei, yě yǒu yige gēge.

However, there are a few differences between the two in usage.

Element of Surprise

也 marks a parallel situation of a relationship between two events or action - hence, it is translated as "also" or "too". 还, however, indicates an element of surprise - which is why it is translated more as "on top of", "in addition to", etc. Therefore, (2) is simply a counting of the siblings one has - whilst (1) places emphasis on the large number of siblings one has:

Not only do I have seven sisters, I also have one brother.

Here is another pair of examples:

(3) 王老师教语法，也叫汉字。 Wáng lǎoshī jiāo yǔfǎ, yě jiāo Hànzi Teacher Wang teaches grammar, and also Chinese characters.

(4) 王老师教语法，还叫汉字。 Wáng lǎoshī jiāo yǔfǎ, hái jiāo Hànzi Teacher Wang teaches grammar. On top of that, he also teaches Chinese characters.

Again (3) is a more simple and plain way of putting the sentence. (4) is a much more emphatic description of the same: Not only does Mr. Wang teach grammar (which is already hard), he also teaches Chinese characters! Thus we can see 也 has a much more factual tone, as opposed to 还's extra emphasis or indication of surprise. Here is an example of using both 也 and 还 in the same sentence:

(5) 》A: 我现在去新图书馆借书。那儿有英语书，也有法语书，还有中文报。你去不去？ wǒ xiànzài qù xīn túshūguǎn jiè shū. nàr yǒu yīngyú shū, yě yǒu fǎyú shū, hái yǒu Zhōngwén bào. nǐ qù bu qù? I'm now going to the new bookshop to borrow books. There there are English books, and French books. In addition, they have Chinese newspapers. Are you going? 》B: 我也去。我去那儿还地图。 wǒ yě qù. wǒ qù nàr huán dìtú. I'm also going. I'm going there to return a map.

还 can't mean "A does X, B also does X"

To express the meaning: "A does X, A also does Y." You can use either 也 or 还. However, for the meaning: "A does X, B also does X" you can only use 也. Some examples:

1. 我教语法，(我)也教汉字。 wǒ jiāo yǔfǎ, (wǒ) yě jiāo Hànzi I teach grammar, and I also teach Chinese characters.
2. 我教语法， 你也教语法。 wǒ jiāo yǔfǎ, nǐ yě jiāo yǔfǎ I teach grammar, and you also teach grammar.
3. 我教语法，(我)还教汉字。 wǒ jiāo yǔfǎ, (wǒ) hái jiāo Hànzi I teach grammar, and on top of that, I also teach Chinese characters.
4. 我教语法，你还教语法。 (Incorrect) wǒ jiāo yǔfǎ, nǐ hái jiāo yǔfǎ I teach grammar, and on top of that, you also teach grammar.

还 as "still"

还hái can also function as a temporal adverb, indicating that "the situation is still the case". The action or state represented by the verb began in the past, and continues into the present:

1. 我以前有三个妹妹，现在还有三个妹妹。 I used to have three younger sisters, I still have three (none died).
2. 我的孩子今年三岁，可是还不会走路。 My child is three this year, but he still can't walk.
3. A: 我们走吧。 B: 还早呢。 我还要在跟丁云谈谈。 A: Let's go. B: It's still early. I still need to talk to Ding Yun more.