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.
What does 很好 (hěn hǎo) mean?
很好 (hěn hǎo) means “very good” in English.
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fēicháng hǎoextremely good
- 太好了tài hǎo legreat! / too good!
- 棒bàngawesome / great (casual)
Examples
你的中文很好。
nǐ de Zhōngwén hěn hǎo.
Your Chinese is very good.
这个主意很好。
zhège zhǔyi hěn hǎo.
This idea is very good.
他今天看起来很好。
tā jīntiān kànqilai 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."
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