Expressing "had better" with "haishi"

Structure

You can use 还是 (háishì) as an auxiliary verb to express "had better" or "ought 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 is often before a verb or a subject.

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

Examples

• 你 不 会， 还是 我 做 吧。
• 我 饿 了，我们 还是 先 吃饭 吧。
• 这里 太 脏 了， 我们 还是 走 吧。
• 你 还是 现在 就 跟 我 说 吧。
• 你 病 了 这么 长 时间，还是 去 医院 吧。

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

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