Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 夠 / 够 | gòu |
| 足夠 / 足够 | zúgòu |
| 充足 | chōngzú |
| 足 | zú |
These terms are used to describe something that is sufficient or adequate. To express that something is 'not enough', you can place the character 不 in front of the word, resulting in 不夠 or 不足夠.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 足夠 / 足够 is composed of 足 (meaning foot or sufficient) and 夠 (meaning enough or reach).
Which one should you use?
The single character 夠 is more common in spoken, everyday conversation than the two-character version 足夠. While 足夠 means enough or sufficient, 充足 is used in more formal or written contexts to describe an abundance or sufficiency of resources like time, energy or supply.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwan, locals often use the form 夠 / 够 to say enough.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In colloquial speech, adding the particle 了 to 夠 creates the phrase 夠了, which is used to mean 'that's enough' or 'stop it' when someone is doing something excessive.
How do you pronounce it?
gòu
Did you know?
- The character 足 (zú) used to mean 'enough' began as a literal drawing of a human leg.
- In some contexts, 夠 is used as an intensifier similar to 'quite' or 'rather'. For example, saying someone is 夠 brave suggests they have reached a high level of bravery.
- The concept of 'sufficiency' in the word 足 is believed to share an ancient root with the Tibetan word ཆོག (chog), which also means 'to be sufficient'.
Examples in context
- 我睡眠不足。I'm not getting enough sleep.This sentence shows how to express a lack of something using 足.Tatoeba #6583879 by verdastelo9604, translation #6583867 by Eccles17
- 今天已经足够了。It is enough for today.This sentence uses 足 to express that a situation has reached a sufficient point.Tatoeba #1735634 by sadhen, translation #862501 by lugal
- 你有足够的食物吗？Do you have enough food?This sentence demonstrates how to ask if a quantity of food is sufficient using 足.Tatoeba #2050886 by sadhen, translation #680823 by Source_VOA
- 我累了，够了！请不要再给我工作了。I'm tired, enough! Please don't give me any more work.
- 你的建议我都听进去了，好了，不要再说了。I've taken all your suggestions into consideration, okay? Please, don't say anything more.
- 我已經買了夠多的水果了，不需要再買了。I’ve already bought enough fruit. There's no need to buy more.
- 50 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “enough” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 夠, 足, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
