NetChai Chinese
很好
hěn hǎo
Very good

很好 (hěn hǎo) is the most common way to say "very good" in Mandarin Chinese. It's versatile and can be used to describe people, things, ideas, or situations.

When to use it

Neutral. For a stronger emphasis, use 非常好 (fēicháng hǎo), meaning "extremely good." If something is truly excellent or amazing, you can exclaim 太好了 (tài hǎo le, "great!") or use the more casual 棒 (bàng, "awesome"). When someone asks "How are you?" (你好吗?), responding 我很好 (wǒ hěn hǎo) means "I'm fine" or "I'm good."

How to pronounce it

Sounds like "hun-HOW." Because both characters are originally third tones, the first one shifts to a rising tone, so it's pronounced "hén hǎo."

Other ways to say it

  • 非常好fēi cháng hǎoextremely good
  • 太好了tài hǎo legreat! / too good!
  • 棒bàngawesome / great (casual)

Examples

你的中文很好。
nǐ de zhōng wén hěn hǎo 。
Your Chinese is very good.
这个主意很好。
zhè ge zhǔ yì hěn hǎo 。
This idea is very good.
他今天看起来很好。
tā jīn tiān kàn qǐ lái hěn hǎo 。
He looks very good today.
Pro tip: While 很好 literally means "very good," in some contexts, especially when responding to "How are you?" (你好吗?), 我很好 can simply mean "I'm fine" or "I'm okay," rather than "I'm excellent."

Related phrases

和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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