好家伙

• Pinyin: hǎo jiā huo
• Hanzi breakdown: 好 = 女 + 子 (good); 家 = 宀 + 豕 (home); 伙 = 人 + 火 (companions)

Meaning

Wow; good heavens; my goodness. An interjection expressing surprise, admiration, or astonishment.

A colloquial exclamation reacting to something unexpected or impressive — similar to 'Holy cow!' or 'Whoa!' in English. Can express both positive amazement and shocked disbelief depending on context. Typical of informal spoken Chinese.

Examples

1. 好家伙，这辆车居然要一百万元！ Good heavens, this car actually costs a million yuan!
2. 好家伙，他一个人搬来了整整一箱书。 Good grief—he carried in an entire box of books by himself.
3. 好家伙，这道题竟然难倒了全班同学。 Good grief, this question actually stumped the whole class.

Usage Guide

Context: exclamation, spoken Chinese, surprise

Tone: exclamatory

Do Say

• 好家伙，这家餐厅竟然排了两个小时的队！(Wow, this restaurant has a two-hour queue!)
• 好家伙，你一晚上就把整本书看完了？(Good heavens, you finished the whole book in one night?)

Don't Say

• 好家伙 in formal or written contexts — use 令人惊叹 or 实在令人吃惊 for written expressions of surprise

Origin & History

Colloquial idiom. 家伙 (fellow; guy) is used here as an intensifying filler in exclamations rather than its literal meaning.

Cultural Context

Generation: Young and middle-aged

Social background: Universal