Expressing "and also" with "hai"

In English we use "and also" when we want to connect separate and different actions. We can do the same thing in Chinese by using 还 (hái).

Structure

The adverb 还 (hái) can be used to link two phrases together, in a similar way to "and also" in English. In this case, 还 (hái) begins a new phrase or clause.

Subj. + Verb + Obj. 1， 还 + Verb + Obj. 2

Examples

• 她 有 一 个 弟弟， 还 有 一 个 妹妹。Tā yǒu yī ge dìdi, hái yǒu yī ge mèimei.She has a younger brother.She also has a younger sister.
• 我老板 会 说 法语，还 会 说 日语。Wǒlǎobǎn huì shuō Fǎyǔ, hái huì shuō Rìyǔ.My boss can speak French.He can also speak Japanese.
• 你 要 咖啡， 还 要 什么？ Nǐ yào yībēi kāfēi, hái yào shénme?You want coffee.What else do you want?
• 我 想 吃 冰淇淋，还 想 吃 汉堡。Wǒ xiǎng chī bīngqílín, hái xiǎng chī qiǎokèlì.I want to eat ice cream and I also want to eat hamburger.
• 爸爸 有 一个 小米 手机，还 有 一个 iPhone。Bàba yǒu yīge xiǎomǐ shǒujī, hái yǒu yīge iPhone.Dad has a millet mobile phone and also has an iPhone.
• 你 晚上 在家 做 了 作业，还 做 了 什么？Māmā zuòle sì gè cài, hái zuò le yīgè tāng.You did your homework at home tonight.What else did you do?
• 他 结婚 的 时候，请 了 同事，还 请 了 谁？ Tā jiéhūn de shǐhou qǐng le tóngshì hái qǐng le shéi.He invited people at work to his wedding.Who else did he invite?
• 我 上大学 的 时候 认识 了 很多 老师，还 认识 了 很多 朋友。Wǒ shàng dàxué de shíhou rènshi le hěnduō lǎoshī, hái rènshi le hěnduō péngyou.When I was in college, I met many professors and also a lot of friends.
• 生日 的 时候，我们 会 吃 蛋糕，还 要 送 礼物。Shēngrì de shíhou, hái yào sòng lǐwù.We eat cakes and also give presents at birthday.
• 去 美国 要 带 钱，护照，还 要 带 什么？Qù Měiguó yào dài qián,hùzhào, hái yào dài shénme?To go to America,you need to take the money and passport.What else do you need to take with you?

Also with 也 (yě)

It should be noted that another common way to express "also" is with the word 也 (yě). What's the difference? With 还 (hái), ONE subject is doing TWO different things, whereas when 也 (yě) is used, TWO subjects are doing ONE thing.

It's the difference between these two English sentences:

• He fixed dinner and also washed the dishes.
• She washed the dishes too.

If you translated these into Chinese, the first one (one subject, two actions) would use 还 (hái), and the second one (second subject, no new actions) would use 也 (yě).

See also

• Continuation with "hai"
• "In addition" with "zaishuo"
• "In addition" as "lingwai"
• Expressing "in addition" with "haiyou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 87) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (p. 251) →buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (p. 198) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 73)→buy