好

• Pinyin: hǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 好 = 女 (woman) + 子 (child) — a mother and child, symbolising goodness

Meaning

Good; fine; well. One of the most common and versatile words in Chinese.

Used as an adjective (好人 = good person), a greeting (你好), an agreement (好的 = OK), and a degree complement (好吃 = delicious). It can also precede verbs to mean 'easy to' (好学 = easy to learn). Extremely high frequency word.

Examples

1. 今天天气很好。 The weather is very good today.
2. 好的，我知道了。 OK, I understand.
3. 她是一个很好的老师。 She is a very good teacher.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, greeting

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 你好！(Hello!)
• 这本书很好。(This book is very good.)

Don't Say

• 他是很好。(Don't use 很 with 是 — say 他很好 without 是, or 他是好人 without 很)

Origin & History

A pictographic compound of 女 (woman) and 子 (child) — a woman with her child, representing goodness and harmony.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal