还 (Still / Also / Even More)

还 (hái) is one of the busiest little words in Mandarin. Sitting in the pre-verbal adverb slot, it can mean "still," "also / besides," or "even more" — three separate English words that Chinese folds into a single morpheme. English speakers stumble here not because any one sense is hard, but because the same syllable keeps reappearing with a different job. The thread that ties them together is worth learning up front: 还 always says "there is more" — more time (the situation is still going), more items (add one to the list), or more degree (push it a notch higher). Read the sentence for which kind of "more" is meant and 还 stops feeling ambiguous.

Note the reading: as an adverb 还 is hái. The same character read huán means "to return" (归还, guīhuán) — a different word entirely. Every example on this page is hái.

Sense 1: continuation — "still"

The most frequent use. 还 before a verb or 在 says a state that started earlier has not switched off yet. This is English "still," and the underlying logic is negative-by-implication: 还在下雨 means the rain that was already falling continues, i.e. it hasn't stopped.

That last one is the pattern 还没…呢 (hái méi… ne) — "not yet, still" — the negative twin of "still," used constantly for things that haven't happened but are expected to. English needs both "still" and "yet"; Chinese covers both with 还.

Sense 2: addition — "also / besides / on top of that"

Here 还 adds one more item to a running list, all belonging to the same subject or situation. English uses "also," "as well," "besides," or "another." The feel is accumulation: you already have or want something, and 还 tacks on the next thing.

This addition sense is where 还 collides with 也 (yě, "also") for English speakers, because both translate as "also." The distinction is sharp and worth drilling: 还 stacks more onto the same subject; 也 mirrors the same predicate across a different subject.

For the parallel-subject "also," see the dedicated 也 page. When both a new subject and a new item are involved, Mandarin cheerfully stacks them: 他也还想去 (tā yě hái xiǎng qù, "he also wants to go as well").

Sense 3: comparative boost — "even more"

Put 还 inside a 比 (bǐ) comparison and it means "even" — it pushes the compared quality one degree past an already-high benchmark. 今天比昨天还冷 doesn't just say today is cold; it says yesterday was cold and today outdoes it.

This slots into the wider comparison grammar covered on the degree-of-difference page. The near-synonym 更 (gèng) also means "even more," but 还 carries a faint note of surprise — "even that?" — that 更 lacks.

Sense 4: "passably" — the softener 还

In fixed phrases like 还可以, 还行, 还好, 还不错, the 还 softens the following adjective to "reasonably, tolerably, not bad." It's the verbal shrug of everyday Chinese — the honest "it's fine" you give when something is neither great nor terrible.

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping 还 in "still" sentences. English can lean on tense alone ("he's sleeping"), but Chinese has no tense, so the "still" must be spoken. Omitting 还 loses the "not stopped yet" meaning entirely.

2. Using 还 for a parallel subject where 也 is needed. 还 adds to the same subject; a second person doing the same thing needs 也.

3. Forgetting 还 makes 比 mean "even." Learners write a flat comparison when they mean "even more."

4. Reading 还 as huán here. In all these adverbial uses the reading is hái; huán is the unrelated verb "to give back."

Key Takeaways

• 还 (hái) means "there is more": more time (still), more items (also / besides), or more degree (even more).
• Still: 还 + verb / 还在 for ongoing actions; 还没…呢 for "not yet."
• Also: 还 adds to the same subject (我还要…); use 也 for a parallel subject (他也要…).
• Even: 比 … 还 pushes a comparison one notch past an already-high mark.
• The softener phrases 还行 / 还可以 / 还不错 mean "not bad" — everyday, informal.
• As an adverb it is always hái, never huán.