还 (hái): still, return
还 (hái) is a Chinese character meaning “still, return.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (structural) and 不 (structural). It ranks #80 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 还 not 不 moving 辶. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 这 (zhè, this).
Definitions
- still, return
Etymology & Origin
ideographicNot 不 moving 辶
Decomposition: ⿺辶不 (layout: surround-from-lower-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 还 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 还
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 还是adverb/conjunction | hái shi | still (as before) | 2 |
| 归还verb | guī huán | to return sth | 6 |
| 还原verb | huán yuán | to restore to the original state | 6 |
| 退还verb | tuì huán | to return (sth borrowed etc) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s) |
| 偿还 | cháng huán | to repay |
| 生还 | shēng huán | to return alive |
| 还击 | huán jī | to hit back |
| 讨价还价 | tǎo jià huán jià | to haggle over price |
| 还债 | huán zhài | to settle a debt |
| 以牙还牙 | yǐ yá huán yá | a tooth for a tooth (retaliation) |
| 交还 | jiāo huán | to return sth |
| 还给 | huán gěi | to return sth to sb |
| 还手 | huán shǒu | to hit back |
| 还款 | huán kuǎn | repayment |
| 返还 | fǎn huán | restitution |
| 还魂 | huán hún | to return from the grave |
| 还价 | huán jià | to make a counteroffer when haggling |
| 还贷 | huán dài | to repay a loan |
还 appears in 76 compound words: 43 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 36 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 还 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to recover one's youthful vigour; to become young again; to become rejuvenated in one's old age
Example Sentences
还有很多工作要做，我们今天可能要加班。
Hái yǒu hěn duō gōngzuò yào zuò, wǒmen jīntiān kěnéng yào jiābān.
There is still a lot of work to do; we may have to work overtime today.
你还是曾经那个少年!苏翊鸣斩获中国队首金
nǐ hái shì céng jīng nā gě shǎo nián ! sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó duì shǒu jīn
You're still the same teenager! Su Yiming wins China's first gold.
浙江男子铁锅里泡澡,底下还烧着火,一个接一个!杭州..
zhè jiāng nán zǐ tiě guō lǐ pāo zǎo , de xià hái shāo zhe huǒ , yī gě jiē yī gě ! háng zhōu . .
Zhejiang man in the iron pot bath, underneath the fire, one after another! Hangzhou ...
与沈腾马丽一起“搭戏”的机器人,还藏着这样的技术突..
yú 沈 téng mǎ lí yī qǐ dā xì de jī qì rén , hái zàng zhe zhè yàng de jì shù tū . .
The robot that "co-stars" with Shen Teng and Ma Li also hides such technological breakthroughs...
女生半年卖出800多只点翠大蟑螂,还推出苍蝇胸针、..
nǚ shēng bàn nián mài chū duō zhī diǎn cuì dà 蟑 螂 , hái tuī chū cāng yíng xiōng zhēn . .
A woman sold over 800 peacock feather cockroaches in six months, and also launched fly brooches, ...
英国男子打砸香港机场 包中还搜出疑似管制药品
yīng guó nán zǐ dǎ zá xiāng gǎng jī chǎng bāo zhōng hái sōu chū yí shì guǎn zhì yào pǐn
British man vandalizes Hong Kong airport; suspected controlled substances found in his bag
你好！你还在那里吗？
Nǐhǎo! nǐ hái zài nàli ma?
Hello! Are you still there?
你更喜欢哪个，这个还是那个？
Nǐ gèng xǐhuan něige, zhège háishi nèige?
Which do you like better, this or that?
您想要茶还是咖啡？
Nín xiǎngyào chá háishi kāfēi?
Would you like tea or coffee?
你是中国人还是日本人？
Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén háishi Rìběnrén?
Are you Chinese or Japanese?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 还 (hái) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 还 have?
What is the radical of 还?
What are the components of 还?
What are common words containing 还?
What characters sound the same as 还 (hái)?
Is 还 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 还 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.