Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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还好 / 还行 / 还可以 / 还不错 — Passable
语气副词「还」— 还好、还行、还可以、还不错
还好, 还行, 还可以, 还不错 — four answers to 怎么样 that all mean passable. 还 sets the temperature at lukewarm: the most useful non-answer in Chinese.
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Memory hook
还 + adj = passable, so-so, not bad
Lukewarm, on purpose
Three questions from the deck, four answers each. Listen for how flat and easy the 还 phrases sound — that flatness is the meaning.
Tap any line to hear it
Not great, not bad不好不坏
No pressure — just making it stick.
你最近怎么样？——____。
Nǐ zuì jìn zěnmeyàng? — ____.
How have you been? — Not bad.
You cooked, and it is good. Which reply is the modest Chinese one?
How's this place? — Pretty decent.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
这件衣服怎么样？——____，我买了。
Zhè jiàn yīfu zěnmeyàng? — ____, wǒ mǎi le.
How's this top? — Pretty good — I'll take it.
Your turn — say it
还好。
Not bad.
你觉得英国菜怎么样？——还行____。
Nǐ juéde Yīngguó cài zěnmeyàng? — Hái xíng ____.
What do you think of British food? — It's… fine.
Pick a verdict for each question — mind the ladder.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Rate these, in pictures看图打分
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four things the deck asks you to rate. Match each picture — then give it a verdict from the ladder, out loud.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
你觉得小米手机怎么样？——还可以。
What do you think of Xiaomi phones? — They're OK.
What do you think of China's high-speed rail?
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
还不错，很便宜。
Not bad — very cheap.
This lesson's characters
还 itself, and the two words that most often follow it.
still; fairly; to return
形meaning + sound
The walking radical 辶 with a sound part: to go back along a road — to return, read huán, as in 还钱, to pay money back. Read hái, it became 'still, yet' — the road not finished — and from there the softener in 还好: still OK, not gone wrong yet. One character, two readings, and both of them are about the road you are on.
OK; to walk; a row
象drawn from life
A crossroads seen from above — two roads meeting — which is why it means to walk and to travel: 行李 is luggage, 银行 (read háng) is a bank, a row of shops. From 'it goes' came 'it will do': 行！ is yes, fine, go ahead, and 还行 is 'it goes — more or less'. 不行 is the firmest no in everyday Chinese.
wrong; mistake
形meaning + sound
Metal 钅 and 昔 for the sound: originally to inlay metal in a pattern, a crossing of lines — from crossed to crossed out, mistaken. 错 is wrong, 错了 is you got it wrong, and 不错 — not wrong — is the compliment: 还不错, pretty good. 没错, no mistake, is 'exactly'.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Answer 你最近怎么样 with 还好 this week and watch what happens: the conversation continues instead of stopping. That is what the lukewarm answer is for.
- Rate five things you used today on the ladder — 不好 / 还行 / 还不错 / 很好 — out loud. Notice that 还行 wins most of the time. It does for everyone.
- When someone praises your Chinese, try the modest reply: 还可以，还在学。 It is exactly what a Chinese person would say — and it is true.