还是 meaning in English

háishi

still (as before); had better

HSK 1adverbconjunctionTraditional 還是16 strokes

Meaning of 还是

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

háishi

still (as before)
had better
unexpectedly
or

How to use 还是

In questions, 还是 means "or" when offering a choice. As an adverb it can mean "still" or "had better." Example: 你喝茶还是咖啡？(Nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi?) Do you want tea or coffee?

还 (hái) means still or yet, and 是 (shì) means to be. Picture someone asking "is it still this, or is it that?" and you have both the "still" and the "or" senses of 还是 (háishi).

Common mistake: Learners often use 还是 for "or" in statements, but statements usually need 或者 (huòzhě), as in 我喝茶或者咖啡都可以 (Wǒ hē chá huòzhě kāfēi dōu kěyǐ). Another trap is putting 吗 (ma) at the end of a 还是 question, since the 还是 already makes it a question.

还是 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

还hái是shì不bù去qù那nà儿ér的de好hǎo。

It's better not to go there.

我wǒ们men还hái是shì在zài这zhè里lǐ坐zuò下xià吧ba。

We'd better sit down here.

我wǒ们men还hái是shì让ràng老lǎo师shī决jué定dìng吧ba。

Let's leave the decision to our teacher.

我wǒ到dào现xiàn在zài还hái是shì不bù知zhī道dào你nǐ的de名míng字zì。

I still don't know your name.

我wǒ还hái是shì一yì直zhí想xiǎng着zhe他tā。

I still think about him all the time.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

还 hái · still · 7 strokes

是 shì · to be · 9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 还是.

还有	hái yǒu	there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition
是不是	shì bu shì	is or is not (used to form yes-no questions)
但是	dànshì	but; however
可是	kěshì	but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed
正是	zhèngshì	is precisely
老是	lǎoshì	always
就是	jiùshì	exactly; precisely; only; simply; just
只是	zhǐshì	merely; only; just; nothing but; simply
要是	yàoshi	(coll.) if
总是	zǒngshì	always
有的是	yǒudeshì	have plenty of; there's no lack of
是否	shìfǒu	whether (or not); if

Questions about 还是

What does 还是 mean?

还是 (háishi) means "still (as before); had better" and is used as a adverb and conjunction.

How do you write 还是?

还是 is made of 2 characters: 还 (7 strokes), 是 (9 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.

Is 还是 an HSK word?

Yes. 还是 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 还是 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 还是 is written 還是.

How do I use 还是 to mean "had better"?

Put 还是 before the verb to give gentle advice or a decision. For example, 你还是早点睡吧 (Nǐ háishi zǎodiǎn shuì ba) means "You had better go to bed early." Adding 吧 (ba) at the end makes it sound softer.

Is the 是 in 还是 pronounced with a fourth tone?

In everyday speech 是 in 还是 is usually neutral tone, so it sounds like háishi. You may also hear háishì in careful speech, and both are understood.