还没有
hái méi yǒuIndicates that an action or state has not occurred up to the present moment.
我还没有准备好。
I haven't prepared yet.
他还没有到。
He hasn't arrived yet.
Commonly used in spoken Chinese to respond to questions about past actions or states.
Related Phrases
💡Pro Tip
Negation in Chinese
Remember that '还没有' is a negation structure for past actions. It's different from '不' (general negation) or '没' (past negation for verbs like 'have').
⚡Gold Rule
Position in Sentences
'还没有' typically appears after the subject and before the verb phrase. Example: '我还没有看完这本书。' (I haven't finished reading this book yet.)
📖Word Origin
The phrase combines '还' (still, yet) and '没有' (not have/be). '还' originates from Old Chinese '亘' (héng, meaning 'still'), while '没有' comes from '无' (wú, meaning 'not') + '有' (yǒu, meaning 'have'). The compound form emerged in Middle Chinese as a natural negation structure.
📝Usage Notes
1. '还没有' is more colloquial than '尚未' (which is formal). 2. Often used in responses to questions about past actions. 3. Can be shortened to '还没' in casual speech (e.g., '还没吃饭').