不好
bù hǎo/pu⁵¹ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
In Chinese, "not good" is said as 不好 (bù hǎo).
The phrase 不好 is used to express that something is of low quality or is not good. It can also be used to describe a person's health or state of being, in which case it means "not well".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 不 (not) and 好 (good).
Which one should you use?
While 不好 can refer to the quality of an object, it can also be used to describe someone's health or state of being as "not well".
How do you pronounce it?
bù hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 好 (hǎo) is composed of the radicals for 'woman' and 'child', suggesting that the original definition of 'good' was the image of a mother and her baby.
- The phrase 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) uses the same 'not good' root to mean 'excuse me' or 'I am embarrassed', shifting the meaning from quality to social modesty.
- In some contexts, saying 不好 is a way to avoid saying 'no' directly, making it a polite but slightly ambiguous refusal.
Examples in context
- 但咖啡不好。But the coffee's not good.This sentence shows how to use 不好 to describe the quality of coffee.Tatoeba #528707 by GlossaMatik, translation #403138 by Ramses
- 我的數學不好。I am not good at mathematics.This sentence uses 不好 to say one is not good at a subject.Tatoeba #1019903 by egg0073, translation #1019899 by CM
- 这对任何人都不好。It's not good for anybody.This sentence shows 不好 being used to describe something that is not good for a person.Tatoeba #5863248 by verdastelo9604, translation #5069826 by CK
- 我的中文不太好，但我在努力学习。My Chinese is not very good, but I am trying hard to learn.
- 这次考试成绩不理想，下次我会更努力的。The exam results were not ideal this time, but I will work harder next time.
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a movie they just watched.
- 浩然 Haoran你觉得这个电影怎么样？Nǐ juéde zhège diànyǐng zěnmeyàng?What do you think of this movie?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我觉得剧情不好。Wǒ juéde jùqíng bù hǎo.I think the plot is not good.
- 浩然 Haoran我也这么觉得。Wǒ yě zhème juéde.I think so too.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们下次换一个看吧。Wǒmen xiàcì huàn yīgè kàn ba.Let's watch a different one next time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 不好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
