(hái shì) - or, still, had better in Mandarin

háishì

Traditional: 還是

HSK 2

#123 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

or, still, had better

Word origin

A compound of 还 (hai) 'still' and 是 (shi) 'to be'. Together they mean 'still is', and in questions mark the alternative 'or'.

还

是

？

Are you going or is he going?

。

You had better leave.

。

Let's just forget it.

？

Do you want tea or coffee?

。

We had better set off earlier.

还是 (hái shì) means or, still, had better. It is used as a conjunction in everyday Mandarin speech.

(10)

(3)

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

This word is part of lesson 3.