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- <title>Moderating positive adjectives with "hai</title>
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- <h1>Moderating positive adjectives with "<span class="pinyinst">hái</span>" "<span class="hanzist">还</span>"</h1>
- <p>Whenever you want to imply that something is "<b>good</b>," but also kind of "<b>meh</b>," you can use <span class="hanzi">还</span> (<span class="pinyin">hái</span>) in front of the "<b>good</b>" adjective.</p>
- <h2 id="commonly-used-expressions">Commonly Used Expressions</h2>
- <p>Besides expressing continuation, <span class="hanzi">还</span> (<span class="pinyin">hái</span>) can also be used to weaken positive adjectives. Used with the adjective "<b>good</b>," this is similar to saying "<b>fairly good</b>" or "<b>pretty good</b>" in English. It's also sometimes used by a speaker to be more modest. Below are some of the most common adjectives that get "<b>toned down</b>" by <span class="hanzi">还</span> (<span class="pinyin">hái</span>) in this structure.</p>
- <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
- <div class="deux">
- <p>Subj. + <span class="hanzist">还</span> + <span class="hanzist">好 / 可以 / 行 / 不错</span></p>
- </div>
- <p>In this pattern, <span class="hanzi">好</span> (<span class="pinyin">hǎo</span>), <span class="hanzi">可以</span> (<span class="pinyin">kěyǐ</span>), <span class="hanzi">行</span> (<span class="pinyin">xíng</span>), and <span class="hanzi">不错</span> (<span class="pinyin">bùcuò</span>) combined with <span class="hanzi">还</span> (<span class="pinyin">hái</span>) can all be taken to mean "<b>pretty good</b>" or "<b>all right</b>" or "decent" (but also kind of <b>meh... not great</b>). As in English, intonation and facial expressions help convey the meaning. If expectations were already low to begin with, <span class="hanzi">还可以</span> (<span class="pinyin">hái kěyǐ</span>) can have the sense of "<b>pretty darn good;</b>" it all depends on context and tone of voice.</p>
- <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
- <div class="exemple">
- <ul>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondjaune">还 好</span> </span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondjaune">hái hǎo</span>.</span><br/>I'm OK.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">爸爸 做 的 菜 <span class="fondjaune">还 可以</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Bàba zuò de cài <span class="fondjaune">hái kěyǐ</span> </span> <br/>The food that dad cooks is OK.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我们 老板 <span class="fondjaune">还 不错</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen lǎobǎn <span class="fondjaune">hái bùcuò</span> </span> <br/>Our boss is not too bad.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">这 家 店 <span class="fondjaune">还 行</span>，不太 贵。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhè jià diàn <span class="fondjaune">hái xíng</span> bù tài guì.</span> <br/>This shop is OK. It's not too expensive.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我 男朋友 的 工资 <span class="fondjaune">还 可以</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou de gōngzī <span class="fondjaune">hái kěyǐ</span> </span> <br/>My boyfriend's salary is OK.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">新 的 办公室 <span class="fondjaune">还 不错</span>。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Xīn de bàngōngshì <span class="fondjaune">hái bùcuò</span> </span> <br/>The new office is OK.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">我 觉得 这里 的 菜 <span class="fondjaune">还 可以</span>，没有 那么 难吃。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ juéde zhèlǐ de cài <span class="fondjaune">hái kěyǐ</span> méiyǒu nàme nánchī.</span> <br/>I think the food here is OK, it is not too bad-tasting.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">这 个 牌子 <span class="fondjaune">还 不错</span>，很 多 年轻 人 喜欢。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège páizi <span class="fondjaune">hái bùcuò</span> hěn duō niánqīng rén xǐhuan.</span> <br/>This brand is not too bad. Many young people like it.</li>
- <li><span class="hanzi">房子 <span class="fondjaune">还 可以</span>，但是 有 点 贵。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Fángzi <span class="fondjaune">hái kěyǐ</span> dànshì yǒudiǎn guì.</span> <br/>The apartment is not too bad, but it is a bit expensive.</li>
- </ul>
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- <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
- <ul>
- <li><a href="Continuation_with_"hai"" title="wikilink">Continuation with "hai"</a></li>
- <li><a href="Expressing_"rather"_with_"bijiao"" title="wikilink">Expressing "rather" with "bijiao"</a></li>
- <li><a href="The_"zui"_superlative" title="wikilink">The "zui" superlative</a></li>
- </ul>
- <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
- <h3 id="books">Books</h3>
- <ul>
- <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 302)</li>
- <li>Exemplification of Common Sentence Patterns in Spoken Chinese <span class="hanzi">汉语口语常用句式例解</span> (pp. 106-7)</li>
- <li>Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 366)</li>
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