Advanced 还 … 呢

Someone is sleeping next door

• A friend speaks loudly. You say more quietly小声点xiǎo shēng diǎn，he / him他tāstill还hái(ongoing action)在zàisleep睡觉shuì jiào(attention / emphasis)呢ne。 — “Keep your voice down; he is still sleeping.” The continuing state is a reason for the reminder.
• still还hái…(attention / emphasis)呢ne can draw attention to a state, but another spoken pattern can evaluate a claimed role ironically. These are related-looking forms with different uses.

Remind the listener that a state continues

• Use subject + still还hái + predicate + (attention / emphasis)呢ne: he / him他tāstill还hái(ongoing action)在zàisleep睡觉shuì jiào(attention / emphasis)呢ne / time时间shíjiānstill还háiearly早zǎo(attention / emphasis)呢ne。 (attention / emphasis)呢ne draws attention to the point in this exchange; it is not a past-tense marker.
• time时间shíjiānstill还háiearly早zǎo(attention / emphasis)呢ne can reassure someone who is rushing: “It is still early.” The state meaning comes from the sentence, while context and voice shape the tone.

time时间shíjiānstill还háiearly早zǎo呢ne。

Recognise an ironic evaluation

• In a critical exchange, still还háiexpert专家zhuān jiā(attention / emphasis)呢ne，even连liánthis这个zhè geeven都dōunot不bùto understand懂dǒng。 means roughly “An expert, supposedly — yet you do not even understand this.” It challenges the performance expected of that role.
• Do not read this as “still an expert” in the same way as “still sleeping.” It can be sharp criticism, not automatically friendly teasing.

Compare the two complete exchanges

• more quietly小声点xiǎo shēng diǎn，he / him他tāstill还hái(ongoing action)在zàisleep睡觉shuì jiào(attention / emphasis)呢ne draws attention to an ongoing activity. still还háiexpert专家zhuān jiā(attention / emphasis)呢ne，even连liánthis这个zhè geeven都dōunot不bùto understand懂dǒng contrasts a claimed role with disappointing performance.
• still还háisay / mention说shuō(attention / emphasis)呢ne is also a context-dependent spoken response, often like “Do not even mention it.” Do not build a universal translation from that short phrase alone.

Keep word order and context separate

• For the ongoing-state pattern, place still还hái before the predicate and (attention / emphasis)呢ne at the end: he / him他tāstill还hái(ongoing action)在zàisleep睡觉shuì jiào(attention / emphasis)呢ne。 Keep the activity or state that the listener needs to notice.
• A different ending can make a different sentence rather than a broken one. he / him他tāstill还hái(ongoing action)在zàisleep睡觉shuì jiào(yes/no ?)吗ma？ is a question about whether he is still sleeping; it is not the same reminder.

Interpret before imitating the tone

• Identify whether the speaker points to a continuing state or evaluates a claim. Use the words around the pattern to justify your choice.
• When giving a considerate reminder, state the situation clearly. Do not use an ironic role comment when your goal is simply to explain why someone should be quiet.

Read the full reference: HSK 5 grammar — Adverbs.