A talk on “还是”: Still, I love you very much!

"还是" is an active word in Chinese. Do you have a good understanding of it?

"还是"是汉语中一个非常活跃的词，但是你真的充分了解它吗？

It falls into different parts of speech and is provided with varied uses.

"还是"具有多种词性和用法：

As a conjunction, it implies options. For example, "Do you like apples or pears?"

作为连词它时常表示选择，如：你喜欢苹果还是梨子？

As an adverb, it indicates a choice made after careful comparison and consideration. For example, "It is raining hard, so I would rather not go out."

作为副词它可以表示经过比较、考虑后作出的选择，如：雨这么大，我还是不出门了。

Today, we'd like to discuss another use of it as an adverb, when it means "still". For example, "Despite of all these hardships, he still doesn't give up."

而我们今天要讨论的是它作为副词的另一种用法：仍然、照旧；指动作或状态保持不变。如：经历了这么多的困难，他还是在坚持着。

Recently , the post "我还是很喜欢你，像风走了八千里，不问归期" (I still love you very much, like the wind chasing after you eight thousand miles, not wondering the returning date) has stimulated a "Sina Microblog Cup Love Poem Contest", as various adaptations of the post have gone viral online. Along with them are the exclamations, "These adapters must have scored full marks in the Gaokao Chinese test!"

最近网上一条"我还是很喜欢你，像风走了八千里，不问归期"的微博，在评论区里上演了一场"新浪微博杯•情诗大赛"，引得网友们不住惊叹：这些转发评论的高手，当年高考语文都是满分的吧！

Here, "还是" means "still". "我还是很喜欢你" means "Anyhow, I still love you very much". It is touching because the word "还是" implies numerous hardships and much sadness, or a probably unrequited emotion. Now, let's enjoy the beauty of Chinese language from some of the adaptations:

在这个句子中，"还是"所表示的就是仍然、照旧的意思，"我还是很喜欢你"也就是不管怎样，我仍然喜欢你。之所以感人就在于"还是"一词隐隐透露出经历的无数磨难和心酸，是一种无论如何也不可能圆满的单方面的情感。现在小编就摘录几句网友们的精彩评论，让大家感受一下汉语言的美。(以下几句摘自微博网友热门评论）

Wǒ hái shì hěn xǐ huɑn nǐ, xiànɡ yǔ sǎ luò zài jí dì, bù yuǎn wàn lǐ. 

我还是很喜欢你，像雨洒落在极地，不远万里。

I still love you very much, like rain sprinkling far, far away onto the polar region.

Wǒ hái shì hěn xǐ huɑn nǐ, xiànɡ jīnɡ chén yú hái dǐ wēn róu hū xī.

我还是很喜欢你，像鲸沉在海底温柔呼吸。

I still love you very much, like a whale breathing quietly under the sea. 

Wǒ hái shì hěn xǐ huɑn nǐ, xiànɡ yún zhuī zhe fēnɡ, bú wèn hé qù.

我还是很喜欢你，像云追着风，不问何去。

I still love you, like a cloud chasing after the wind, not wondering the destination.

The article is translated and editted by Chinlingo. Please indicate the source for any use, reproduction or transfer. 

本文由Chinlingo编译后发布，如需转载，请标明来源。