hái shì
...or...? [in a question]
我还是学生。
wǒ hái shì xué sheng.
I am still a student.
你还是回家吧。
nǐ hái shì huí jiā ba.
You should go home.
我还是喜欢你。
wǒ hái shì xǐ huan nǐ.
I still like you.
依然 (yīrán)
still
仍然 (réngrán)
still
依旧 (yījiù)
still
或者 (huòzhě)
or
不是 (bùshì)
not
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The Chinese word 还是 (hái shì) is composed of two characters: 还 (hái) and 是 (shì). The character 还 originally meant "to return" or "to come back", but in modern Chinese it is often used as an adverb meaning "still" or "yet". The character 是 is a verb meaning "to be" or "to exist". When combined, the two characters 还是 can be translated as "still is" or "still exists".In addition to its literal meaning, 还是 can also be used in a figurative sense to mean "or else" or "otherwise". For example, the sentence 他还是走了 (tā hái shì zǒu le) can be translated as "He left anyway" or "He had to leave".The word 还是 is a versatile word that can be used in a variety of contexts. It is an important word for HSK learners to know, as it is used frequently in both spoken and written Chinese.
