好主意
hǎo zhǔyi
The English phrase "good idea" translates to Chinese as 好主意 (hǎo zhǔyi).
好主意 is a phrase used to express agreement with a suggestion or plan. While 好主意 is a direct translation of "good idea", in casual conversation, Chinese speakers often simply say 好啊 to express agreement with a suggestion.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 好 (hǎo), meaning "good" and 主意 (zhǔyi), meaning "idea" or "plan".
How does it change in a sentence?
In Chinese, the noun for "idea" used in this phrase, 主意, does not change its form for plurality.
How do you pronounce it?
hǎo zhǔyi
Did you know?
- While 好主意 means 'good idea', the character 好 is a compound of 'woman' and 'child', which originally represented the idea of 'goodness' or 'harmony' in a family.
- In a brainstorming session, instead of saying 好主意, a person might say 不错 (bùcuò), which literally means 'not wrong' but is used to mean 'not bad' or 'good'.
- While 好主意 translates to 'good idea', if you want to say 'that is a good idea' in a more natural, colloquial way, you might say 很有道理 (hěn yǒu dàolǐ), which literally means 'it has great reason'.
Examples in context
- 這不是好主意。This isn't a good idea.This sentence is useful for showing the negation of the phrase using 好主意.Tatoeba #6120907 by verdastelo9604, translation #3530025 by CK
- 这是个好主意。It's a good idea.This sentence is useful for showing how to use 好主意 in a positive statement.Tatoeba #7768154 by jiangche, translation #3334010 by CK
- 他想到一个好主意。A good idea occurred to him.This sentence is useful for showing the phrase occurring to someone using 好主意.Tatoeba #8765235 by crescat, translation #325837 by CK
- 我有一个好主意，我们可以去郊游。 好主意! 我们应该抓住这个机会。I have a good idea, we can go on an outing. Good idea! We should seize this opportunity.
- 你想要去看电影吗? 不错的主意！听起来很有趣。Do you want to go watch a movie? Good idea! It sounds fun.
- 19 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing what to do during the weekend.
- 浩然 Haoran我们明天去爬山吧。Wǒmen míngtiān qù páshān ba.Let's go hiking tomorrow.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen好主意！Hǎo zhǔyì!Good idea!
- 浩然 Haoran那我们下午两点见。Nà wǒmen xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn jiàn.Then let's meet at 2 PM.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen没问题，明天见。Méi wèntí, míngtiān jiàn.No problem, see you tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
