又 (yòu) vs 再 (zài) vs 还 (hái) in Mandarin: The Three Ways to Say 'Again'

Three words, one dividing line

English uses 'again' for both halves of a repetition and does not care whether the repeat has happened. Mandarin cares a great deal.

• 他又yòu来了。 (tā yòu lái le.) - He has come again. (It happened. He is here.)
• 你再zài来一次。 (nǐ zài lái yī cì.) - Come again. (It has not happened. You might.)
• 他还hái在这里。 (tā hái zài zhè lǐ.) - He is still here. (Nothing repeated; the first visit never ended.)

Three sentences, three adverbs, and the choice is made before you get anywhere near the verb.

All three sit in the ordinary adverb slot: after the subject, before the verb.

Subject + 又yòu (yòu) / 再zài (zài) / 还hái (hái) + verb

又 (yòu): it happened again

又 (yòu) reports a repetition the speaker has already witnessed. It almost always brings 了 (le) with it, because the event is done.

• 他又yòu迟到了le。 (tā yòu chí dào le.) - He's late again. (迟到 (chí dào) = be late.)
• 我又yòu忘了le带钥匙。 (wǒ yòu wàng le dài yào shi.) - I've forgotten my keys again.
• 昨天下雨，今天又yòu下雨了le。 (zuó tiān xià yǔ, jīn tiān yòu xià yǔ le.) - It rained yesterday and it's raining again today.

There is a tone to 又 (yòu) that is worth hearing: it is the character of 'not this again'. It reports the repeat and, most of the time, is not delighted about it.

The one future 又yòu (yòu). When a repeat is fixed by the calendar or by routine, 又 (yòu) can point forwards: 明天又yòu是星期一 (míng tiān yòu shì xīng qī yī) - tomorrow is Monday again. Nothing is uncertain about Monday, so the event is treated as already settled. This is the exception that keeps the rule: 又 (yòu) is for repeats the speaker takes as fact, and 再 (zài) is for repeats that are still open.

再 (zài): it has not happened yet

再 (zài) points forward. Requests, instructions, plans, offers, conditions: anything where the repeat is still to come.

• 请再zài说一遍。 (qǐng zài shuō yī biàn.) - Please say it again. (一遍 (yī biàn) = one time through.)
• 再zài来一杯吧。 (zài lái yī bēi ba.) - Another cup, then.
• 我们明天再zài说。 (wǒ men míng tiān zài shuō.) - Let's talk about it tomorrow.
• 你吃完饭再zài走。 (nǐ chī wán fàn zài zǒu.) - Have your dinner before you go.

That last pattern is worth noting on its own: 再 (zài) also sequences two future events, 'do A, and only then B'. 你吃完饭再走 is not about repeating anything; it is about the order of the going and the eating.

Because 再 (zài) is future, it does not take a sentence-final 了 (le) in its plain 'once more' use. 你再说一次 (nǐ zài shuō yī cì) is right; 你再说一次了 is not.

再zài也yě不bù (zài yě bù) / 再zài也yě没méi (zài yě méi) - never again. The negative version is a set phrase and the most useful thing 再 (zài) does:

• 我再zài也yě不bù去那家店了。 (wǒ zài yě bù qù nà jiā diàn le.) - I'm never going to that shop again.
• 他再zài也yě没méi来过。 (tā zài yě méi lái guo.) - He never came again.

还 (hái): it has not stopped

还 (hái) is not a repeat at all, which is why it feels like the odd one out and why it is actually the easiest of the three. Nothing happens twice: one situation started and is still running.

• 他还hái在睡觉。 (tā hái zài shuì jiào.) - He's still asleep.
• 我还hái没吃饭。 (wǒ hái méi chī fàn.) - I haven't eaten yet.
• 你还hái在这里？ (nǐ hái zài zhè lǐ?) - You're still here?
• 我还hái想再要一杯。 (wǒ hái xiǎng zài yào yī bēi.) - I'd still like another cup. (Both adverbs, each doing its own job.)

Note that 还 (hái) is the character to reach for with 没 (méi) when you mean 'not yet'. 我没吃饭 (wǒ méi chī fàn) is 'I didn't eat'; 我还没吃饭 (wǒ hái méi chī fàn) is 'I haven't eaten yet', with the meal still ahead.

A pronunciation footnote: this character has a second reading, 还 (huán), which is the verb 'to return something'. Same character, different word, and context settles it instantly - an adverb before a verb is 还 (hái) every time.

The error that gives you away

Swapping 又 (yòu) and 再 (zài) is the mistake that marks a learner fastest, because it is not a shade of meaning, it is a contradiction.

• 他又yòu来了。 (tā yòu lái le.) - RIGHT. He came again.
• 他再来了 (tā zài lái le)。 - WRONG. A future repeat with a completion 了 on it.
• 你再zài来一次。 (nǐ zài lái yī cì.) - RIGHT. Come again.
• 你又来一次 (nǐ yòu lái yī cì)。 - WRONG. A finished repeat with no 了 and an instruction reading.

The 了 (le) is the tell. If the sentence wants 了 (le), you want 又 (yòu). If the sentence is a request, an offer, a plan or a condition, you want 再 (zài).

又 (yòu) ... 又 (yòu) ...: both, and

Doubled up in front of two adjectives or two verbs, 又 (yòu) stops meaning 'again' and means 'both this and that'. The two qualities have to point the same way, positive or negative.

• 这家店的菜又yòu便宜又yòu好吃。 (zhè jiā diàn de cài yòu pián yi yòu hǎo chī.) - The food here is cheap and tasty.
• 他又yòu累又yòu饿。 (tā yòu lèi yòu è.) - He's tired and hungry.
• 她又yòu会唱歌又yòu会跳舞。 (tā yòu huì chàng gē yòu huì tiào wǔ.) - She can sing and dance.

The nearest single-word rival is 而且 (ér qiě), 'moreover', but that joins clauses in writing. 又...又 is short, spoken and sits inside one clause. Do not mix qualities that pull in opposite directions: for 'cheap but not very good', you want 虽然 (suī rán) or 但是 (dàn shì), not 又...又.

再 (zài) + adjective + 也 (yě): however much

再 (zài) has a second life as a concession opener. The frame is 再 (zài) + adjective + 也 (yě) + clause, and it means 'however X it is, still...'.

• 再zài难也yě要做完。 (zài nán yě yào zuò wán.) - However hard it is, it has to be finished.
• 再zài贵也yě得买。 (zài guì yě děi mǎi.) - However expensive, I have to buy it.
• 再zài忙也yě要吃饭。 (zài máng yě yào chī fàn.) - However busy you are, you still have to eat.

Read it as 'even more X than this, and still...'. It keeps the forward-looking flavour of 再 (zài): you are inviting the listener to imagine the quality being pushed further, and the outcome not changing.

还 (hái) in comparisons: even more

Drop 还 (hái) into a 比 (bǐ) comparison and it adds 'even'. The point is that the standard was already high.

• 他比我还hái高。 (tā bǐ wǒ hái gāo.) - He's even taller than me. (And I'm tall.)
• 今天比昨天还hái冷。 (jīn tiān bǐ zuó tiān hái lěng.) - It's even colder today than yesterday.

Compare it with the plain comparison and with 更 (gèng):

• 他比我高。 (tā bǐ wǒ gāo.) - He's taller than me. (Flat statement.)
• 他比我更gèng高。 (tā bǐ wǒ gèng gāo.) - He's taller still. (A degree up, neutral.)
• 他比我还hái高。 (tā bǐ wǒ hái gāo.) - He's even taller than me. (With a note of surprise.)

更 (gèng) and 还 (hái) are close here. 还 (hái) carries the surprise; 更 (gèng) is the neutral intensifier and the safer choice in writing.

还有 (hái yǒu): and also

还有 (hái yǒu) is 'and also', 'plus', 'one more thing'. It adds an item to a list, and it can open a sentence, which most Mandarin adverbs cannot.

• 我买了苹果、香蕉，还hái有yǒu面包。 (wǒ mǎi le píng guǒ, xiāng jiāo, hái yǒu miàn bāo.) - I bought apples, bananas and bread.
• 还hái有yǒu一件事我要告诉你。 (hái yǒu yī jiàn shì wǒ yào gào su nǐ.) - There's one more thing I need to tell you.

This is the everyday spoken way of adding to a list. It beats 和 (hé), which joins nouns but cannot open a sentence, and it beats 而且 (ér qiě), which is a register up.

Worked examples

1. 他又yòu迟到了le。 (tā yòu chí dào le.) - He's late again. 又 + 了: the repeat has happened, and the speaker is not pleased.
2. 你再zài说一遍，好吗？ (nǐ zài shuō yī biàn, hǎo ma?) - Say it once more, would you? 再 in a request: the repeat is still ahead.
3. 都十点了，他还hái在睡觉。 (dōu shí diǎn le, tā hái zài shuì jiào.) - It's ten o'clock and he's still asleep. 还 for a situation that has not ended.
4. 这个地方又yòu大又yòu便宜。 (zhè ge dì fang yòu dà yòu pián yi.) - This place is big and cheap. Doubled 又: both qualities positive.
5. 再zài远我也yě要去。 (zài yuǎn wǒ yě yào qù.) - However far it is, I'm going. 再 + adjective + 也: the concession frame.
6. 他的中文比我还hái好。 (tā de zhōng wén bǐ wǒ hái hǎo.) - His Chinese is even better than mine. 还 in a 比 comparison, with the surprise.

Common mistakes

1. 再zài (zài) for a repeat that has already happened. 他再来了 (tā zài lái le) is the classic. Use 又 (yòu): 他又来了 (tā yòu lái le).
2. 又yòu (yòu) in a request. 请又说一遍 (qǐng yòu shuō yī biàn) is wrong; a request is by definition unrealised. 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yī biàn).
3. A final 了le (le) on a plain 再zài (zài) sentence. 你再说一次了 has a completion marker on an event that has not occurred. Drop it: 你再说一次 (nǐ zài shuō yī cì). (再也不...了 is different: there the 了 marks the change of state, not the repeat.)
4. 还hái (hái) for a repeat. 他还来了 does not mean 'he came again'. 还 (hái) never repeats anything; it continues something. For the repeat you want 又 (yòu).
5. Dropping 还hái (hái) from 'not yet'. 我没吃饭 (wǒ méi chī fàn) says you did not eat. 我还没吃饭 (wǒ hái méi chī fàn) says you have not eaten yet, and the difference matters when somebody is about to feed you.
6. Mixing directions in 又yòu...又yòu. 又便宜又不好吃 (yòu pián yi yòu bù hǎo chī) reads oddly, because the pair is built to stack qualities that agree. Use 虽然便宜，但是不好吃 (suī rán pián yi, dàn shì bù hǎo chī) for the contrast.

Register: the attitudes these words carry

None of the three is formal or informal. What they carry is attitude, and that is the thing to control.

又 (yòu) is a complaint waiting to happen. 你又来了 (nǐ yòu lái le) can be a warm 'you're back' or a weary 'here we go again', and the difference is tone of voice, not grammar. Said about somebody's lateness, mistakes or requests, it will be read as criticism. That is often what you want, and it is worth knowing when it is not.

再 (zài) is the polite one. Nearly every softened request in Mandarin has 再 (zài) somewhere in it: 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yī biàn), 你再想想 (nǐ zài xiǎng xiang), 我们再看看 (wǒ men zài kàn kan). Adding 再 (zài) to an instruction moves it from a command towards a suggestion, because it points at something the listener might do rather than something they must do now. 明天再说 (míng tiān zài shuō) is also the standard polite way of shelving a subject without refusing it.

还 (hái) is the softener. 还行 (hái xíng) and 还可以 (hái kě yǐ) both mean 'it's all right', and both are British-level understatement: nobody is committing to enthusiasm. 还好 (hái hǎo) does the same for 'fine, not bad'. If you want one takeaway for speaking, it is that 还 (hái) in front of an adjective lowers the temperature of whatever you were about to say.

See also

• Aspect markers - the 了 (le) that 又 (yòu) attracts and plain 再 (zài) refuses, and the 在 (zài) of ongoing action, which is a different word from the 再 (zài) here.
• 就 vs 才 - the other expectation-driven adverb pair at this level, and the same discipline of reading the speaker rather than the clock.
• Comparatives - the 比 (bǐ) frame that 还 (hái) and 更 (gèng) intensify.
• Concession: 虽然, 不过, 还是 - where 再...也 sits among the other ways of conceding a point, and the other 还 (hái) compound, 还是 (hái shi).
• Requests and imperatives - the softening machinery that 再 (zài) plugs into, alongside 请 (qǐng), 吧 (ba) and verb reduplication.