Level 1 · Beginner
Still and not yet: 还 / 还没…呢
还 + Verb / Adj. — 还没 + Verb + 呢 · Traditional: 還 + Verb / Adj. — 還沒 + Verb + 呢
还 (hái) before a verb or adjective means "still": 他还在睡觉 "he's still sleeping", 我还想玩 "I still want to play". Nothing has changed yet.
Put 还 in front of 没 and you get "not yet": 我还没吃饭 "I haven't eaten yet". Adding 呢 at the end sounds natural and a little expectant — it's coming, just not yet. Unlike English "yet", 还 always goes before the verb, never at the end.
Examples
他还在睡觉。
他還在睡覺。
tā hái zài shuì jiào
He's still asleep.
我还想睡。
我還想睡。
wǒ hái xiǎng shuì
I still want to sleep.
车还没来呢。
車還沒來呢。
chē hái méi lái ne
The bus hasn't come yet.
我还没吃饭呢。
我還沒吃飯呢。
wǒ hái méi chī fàn ne
I haven't eaten yet.
Common mistakes
✗ 我没吃饭还。
✓ 我还没吃饭呢。
还 goes before 没 and the verb — never at the end like English "yet".
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Dad Is Coming, Can Mifan Come In?, Waiting for the Bus inside the Literate Chinese app.
