Expressing "had better" with "haishi"

One of the ways to use 还是 (háishì) is to have it mean "you had better," similar to how in English we may say "I think you had better start on your homework."

Structure

还是 as an adverb can express "had better" or "it would be better to." The idea is that the speaker has given the matter some thought, and after considering it, has finally come to a decision. The announcement of this decision will frequently include 还是, and it usually comes before a verb or a subject.

Subj. + 还是 + [Verb Phrase] + 吧

吧 is often placed after this structure, as it's a suggestion.

Examples

• 我们 还是 明天 去 吧 。Wǒmen háishì míngtiān qù ba.We'd better go tomorrow.
• 还是 让 她 走 吧 。Háishì ràng tā zǒu ba.We'd better let her go.
• 你 还是 帮帮 他 吧 。Nǐ háishì bāngbang tā ba.You'd better help him with this.
• 还是 别 问 了 吧 。Háishì bié wèn le ba.We'd better not ask.
• 太 贵 了，还是 别 买 了 吧 。Tài guì le, háishì bié mǎi le ba.It's too expensive. You'd better not buy it.
• 你 还是 现在 就 跟 我 说 吧 。Nǐ háishì xiànzài jiù gēn wǒ shuō ba.You'd better talk with me now.
• 我 饿 了，我们 还是 先 吃饭 吧 。Wǒ è le, wǒmen háishì xiān chīfàn ba.I'm hungry; we had better eat first.
• 这里 太 脏 了，我们 还是 走 吧 。Zhèlǐ tài zàng le, wǒmen háishì zǒu ba.It's too dirty here; we'd better leave.
• 你 做 得 太 慢 了，还是 让 他 做 吧 。Nǐ zuò de tài màn le, háishì ràng tā zuò ba.You did too slowly. We'd better ask him to do it.
• 快 迟到 了，我们 还是 打车 吧 。Kuài chídào le, wǒmen háishì dǎchē ba.We're running late. Let's take a taxi.

See also

• Offering choices with haishi
• "Yinggai" for should
• Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 144) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 259-60)　→buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 103) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (p. 211) →buy

HSK4