Moderating positive adjectives with "hai

Whenever you want to imply that something is "good," but also kind of "meh," you can use 还 (hái) in front of the "good" adjective.

Commonly Used Expressions

Besides expressing continuation, 还 (hái) can also be used to weaken positive adjectives. Used with the adjective "good," this is similar to saying "fairly good" or "pretty good" in English. It's also sometimes used by a speaker to be more modest. Below are some of the most common adjectives that get "toned down" by 还 (hái) in this structure.

Structure

In this pattern, 好 (hǎo), 可以 (kěyǐ), 行 (xíng), and 不错 (bùcuò) combined with 还 (hái) can all be taken to mean "pretty good" or "all right" or "decent" (but also kind of meh... not great). As in English, intonation and facial expressions help convey the meaning. If expectations were already low to begin with, 还可以 (hái kěyǐ) can have the sense of "pretty darn good;" it all depends on context and tone of voice.

Examples

我还好
Wǒ hái hǎo.
I'm OK.
爸爸做的菜还可以。
Bàba zuò de cài hái kěyǐ
The food that dad cooks is OK.
我们老板还不错。
Wǒmen lǎobǎn hái bùcuò
Our boss is not too bad.
这家店还行，不太贵。
Zhè jià diàn hái xíng bù tài guì.
This shop is OK. It's not too expensive.
我男朋友的工资还可以。
Wǒ nánpéngyou de gōngzī hái kěyǐ
My boyfriend's salary is OK.
新的办公室还不错。
Xīn de bàngōngshì hái bùcuò
The new office is OK.
我觉得这里的菜还可以，没有那么难吃。
Wǒ juéde zhèlǐ de cài hái kěyǐ méiyǒu nàme nánchī.
I think the food here is OK, it is not too bad-tasting.
这个牌子还不错，很多年轻人喜欢。
Zhège páizi hái bùcuò hěn duō niánqīng rén xǐhuan.
This brand is not too bad. Many young people like it.
房子还可以，但是有点贵。
Fángzi hái kěyǐ dànshì yǒudiǎn guì.
The apartment is not too bad, but it is a bit expensive.

Moderating positive adjectives with "hái" "还"

Commonly Used Expressions

Structure

Examples

See also

Sources and further reading

Books