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 gè dìdi, hái yǒu yī gè 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 hànbǎo. 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 yī gè xiǎomǐ shǒujī, hái yǒu yī gè 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？Nǐ wǎnshang zài jiā zuò le zuòyè, hái zuò le shénme? 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 shíhou, qǐng le tóngshì, hái qǐng le shéi. He invited people at work when he got married. Who else did he invite?
  • 我 上大学 的 时候 认识 了 很多 好朋友，还 认识 了 我 现在 女朋友。Wǒ shàng dàxué de shíhou rènshi le hěnduō hǎopéngyou, hái rènshi le wǒ xiànzài de nǚpéngyou. When I was in college, I met many good friends and also my current girlfriend.
  • 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

Sources and further reading

Books

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