还……呢
and you call yourself …! (teasing)
Structure
还 + 名词／形容词 + 呢 ，……
What it means
Teasing: “and you call yourself …!”. It names what someone is or claims to be, then shows they don’t live up to it.
How it is built
还 + noun／adjective + 呢，+ the fact that doesn’t fit: 还北京人呢，连这条路都不认识！ (and you call yourself a Beijinger! You don’t even know this road!).
When to use it
The second half often has 连……都 or 都: 还研究生呢，这么简单的题都不会做. It is joking and a bit cheeky, so use it with friends, not with your boss or teacher.
Watch out
Here 还 doesn’t mean “still”, and you need the 呢: ✗ 还北京人，连这条路都不认识！ ✓ 还北京人呢，连这条路都不认识！
Examples
还北京人呢，连这条路都不认识！
And you call yourself a Beijinger! You don’t even know this road!
还研究生呢，这么简单的题都不会做。
Call yourself a postgraduate? You can’t even do a question this easy.
还勇敢呢，看见一只小狗就跑了。
Brave, are you? You ran off the moment you saw a little dog.
Learn this in HSK 4 · Lesson 23: 你是什么样的人 (Personality)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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