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

• 还是 明天 去 吧 。Háishì míngtiān qù ba.We'd better go tomorrow.
• 还是 让 她 进来 吧 。Háishì ràng tā jìnlái ba.We'd better let her come in.
• 你 还是 快点 走 吧 。Nǐ háishì kuài diǎn zǒu ba.You'd better leave now.
• 我们 还是 帮帮 他 吧 。Wǒmen háishì bāngbang tā ba.We'd better help him.
• 太 晚 了 ，还是 先 回家 吧 。Tài wǎn le, háishì xiān huíjiā ba.It's too late. We'd better go home now.
• 这里 太 脏 了，我们 还是 走 吧 。Zhèlǐ tài zāng le, wǒmen háishì zǒu ba.It's too dirty here; we'd better leave.
• 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.

When the part after 还是 is a negative verb phrase, it's OK to drop the 吧 at the end.

• 太 贵 了 ，还是 别 买 了 。Tài guì le, háishì bié mǎi le.It's too expensive. You'd better not buy it.
• 她 不 想 说 ，还是 不要 再 问 了 。Tā bù xiǎng shuō, háishì bùyào zài wèn le.She doesn't want to say anything. We'd better stop asking.
• 他 一定 不 同意 ，还是 别 跟 他 说 了 。Tā yīdìng bù tóngyì, háishì bié gēn tā shuō le.He will definitely disagree. We'd better not tell him.

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) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 259-60) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 103) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 211) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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