Moderating positive adjectives with "hai"

Whenever you want to imply that something is "meh", you can use 还(hái).

常用表达

Structure

As well as continuation, 还 (hái) can also be used to weaken positive adjectives. This is similar to saying "quite" or "reasonably" in English. Stated underneath is the most common ways to express "hai".

Subject + 还 好

Subject + 还 可以

Subject + 还 行

Subject + 还 不错

Examples

• 我 还 好。I'm OK.
• 这 个 地方 还 好。This place is OK.
• 我 觉得 还 好，没有 那么 难吃。I think it's OK, it is not so bad-tasting.
• 啤酒 还 行。Beer is decent.
• 这 个 店 的 衣服 还 行。The clothes in this shop are alright.
• 质量 还 行。The quality is OK.
• 那 个 乐队 还 可以。That band is so-so.
• 这里 的 菜 还 可以。Here the food is so-so.
• 房子 还 不错，但是 有 点 贵。The apartment is not too bad, but it is a bit expensive.
• 我们 老板 还 不错。Our boss is not too bad.

“还” used as an adjective

Besides these common used fixed expressions, "还" can also be used together with an adjective. This structure can be used to weaken a positive adjective. "还" is similar to saying "reasonably" or "quite" in English. 除了以上常用的固定表达以外，“还”可以跟形容词一起用，表示程度上勉强过得去。但是“还”跟形容词之间通常会加"算"，用以补足音节，并且使表达更地道。 As well as continuation,"还"(hái) can also be used to weaken positive adjectives. This is similar to saying "quite" or "reasonably" in English.

Structure

Subject + 还 算 + Adj.

Examples

• 房间 还 算 大。The room is fairly big.
• 这 个 女 孩子还 算 漂亮。This girl is fairly beautiful.
• 我们 公司 还 算 好。Our office is fairly good.
• 工作 还 算顺利。The work is fairly smooth.
• 这 里 还算 安静。This place is fairly quiet.
• 这 个 城市 的 还算 干净。This city is fairly clean.
• 我 家 的 宝宝 还算 听话。My baby fairly does what it's told.
• 这 家 店 的 东西 还算 便宜。The things in this shop are fairly cheap.
• 这 个 人 还算 诚实。This person is fairly honest.
• 你 还算 聪明。You are fairly clever.

See also

• Continuation with "hai"
• Expressing "rather" with "bijiao"
• The "zui" superlative

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 302) →buy
• Exemplification of Common Sentence Patterns in Spoken Chinese 汉语口语常用句式例解 (pp. 106-7) →buy