第两百二十九天

[nnozomi]

语法
还是 + V for something like "even so it happened..." (middle of page) I find this very unintuitive, especially as 还是 has a zillion meanings...
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Continuation_with_%22hai%22

词汇
起, arise/start; also 起床, get up (in the morning), 起来, get up/verb complement, 一起, together, 对不起, sorry 起 qǐ, arise/start; also 起床 qǐchuáng, get up (in the morning), 起来 qǐlái, get up/verb complement, 一起 yìqǐ, together, 对不起 duìbuqǐ, sorry
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-1-word-list/

Link to introductory grammar, day 15

Guardian:
她和我约定了会照顾我一辈子，可奶奶终究还是老了, Grandma promised me to look after me my whole life, but she got old even so
你的脚应该没事，起来吧, your foot should be fine, get up.
就算您把话说得再不明不白，可您还是我的救命恩人啊, no matter how hard it is to understand you (?), you're still my savior.

Me:
我知道我不该再吃一块巧克力，可我还是吃完了。
他起床的时候，喝杯咖啡才能说人话。

Comments

[trobadora]

还是 + V for something like "even so it happened..." (middle of page) I find this very unintuitive, especially as 还是 has a zillion meanings...

But doesn't English do pretty much the same thing with "still" sometimes meaning "nevertheless"?

[nnozomi]

That's a good point! I think it's partly that I learned 还是 first meaning "or" and my brain doesn't like to admit more meanings, but thinking of it as "still" that way could be really helpful, 谢谢！

[grayswandir]

I learned 还是 first meaning "or"

I've somehow never even noticed that these were the same word. o_O They correspond to two different words in Cantonese, so, like, I learned 还是 as the formal/Mandarin word for "or," and I also separately learned 还是 as Mandarin for "still," and I think in context I usually default to whichever one makes sense? But I never thought about the fact that in Mandarin they're the same word!

On reflection, I think it's that I only read 还是 as being a single grammatical unit when it means "or." Like, I think of 还 by itself as meaning "still," so in contexts where 还是 = "still," I just think of it as 还 + copula. I see that dictionaries definitely list 还是 as a set phrase meaning both "or" and "still," so I'm not saying my way is correct or anything. :P But I think I've kept the two usages separate in my head by reading 还是 as "or" and 还+是 as "still [is]"...

[trobadora]

But I think I've kept the two usages separate in my head by reading 还是 as "or" and 还+是 as "still [is]"...

Yeah, that's how I think about it, too!

[sakana17]

But I think I've kept the two usages separate in my head by reading 还是 as "or" and 还+是 as "still [is]"...

This is how I've been thinking of it, too.

Though I have to admit that the first few times I transcribed the "still" 还是 it threw me for a loop because I had "or" in my brain, which didn't make any sense in context.

[nnozomi]

I only read 还是 as being a single grammatical unit when it means "or." Like, I think of 还 by itself as meaning "still," so in contexts where 还是 = "still," I just think of it as 还 + copula.
That makes really good sense. I think my brain has just put itself on alert re 还是, between "or," "still," and the sort of "how about we..." one, and just goes !!! when it comes up.

[presumenothing]

闹钟响了，但我还是不想起床！让我再多睡一会儿好不好！没良心！ (aka me every morning)

Coincidentally I just got reminded while searching for something yesterday that 起 is also used as a counter for incidents, which is weirdly fitting.

ETA: re the 例句, I'd render 不明不白 as obtuse/unclear instead – 明白 here is more in the descriptor sense of being clear ("你能不能把话说明白一点!?" in the exasperated imperative) rather than the 我明白了 verb for understanding.

[nnozomi]

re the 例句, I'd render 不明不白 as obtuse/unclear instead – 明白 here is more in the descriptor sense of being clear ("你能不能把话说明白一点!?" in the exasperated imperative) rather than the 我明白了 verb for understanding.
谢谢, 那是更明白 :)

闹钟响了，但我还是不想起床！让我再多睡一会儿好不好！
Liu Chang has you covered.