很奇怪
hěn qíguài
The English phrase "very strange" is translated into Chinese as 很奇怪 (hěn qíguài).
The phrase can be used to describe both an external situation (e.g., 'This situation is very strange') and a person's character or behavior (e.g., 'He is a very strange person').
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of 很 (hěn) meaning "very" and 奇怪 (qíguài) meaning "strange".
Which one should you use?
You can use 非常奇怪 to mean "extremely strange", 十分奇异 to mean "extremely peculiar", 超级奇怪 to mean "super strange" or 好奇怪 to mean "very strange" or "so strange".
How does it change in a sentence?
In Chinese, the adverb 很 (hěn) is often used before an adjective even when the English translation doesn't strictly require the word 'very', simply to link the subject to the adjective.
How do you pronounce it?
hěn qíguài
Did you know?
- The character 怪 (guài) can also function as a verb meaning 'to blame' or 'to hold someone responsible' for a situation.
- To express a feeling of supernatural or uncanny strangeness, speakers replace 奇怪 (qíguài) with the word 诡异 (guǐyì).
- In some contexts, describing someone as 奇怪 (qíguài) can be a polite euphemism for saying they are mentally unstable or eccentric without using more clinical or offensive terms.
Examples in context
- 很多例句用到“汤姆”和“麦克”，这很奇怪。There are so many example sentences using "Tom" and "Mike". It's very strange.This sentence uses 很奇怪 to comment on the frequency of certain names in example sentences.Tatoeba #4789647 by 400S, translation #4844639 by pig8322
- 他有时候很奇怪。Sometimes, he's very strange.This sentence uses 很奇怪 to describe a person's behavior.Tatoeba #2675101 by Tximist, translation #2681822 by FeuDRenais
- 这个现象非常奇怪，我无法解释。This phenomenon is extremely strange, I can't explain it.
- 这个味道很奇怪。Zhège wèidào hěn qíguài.This taste is very strange.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a new restaurant they visited.
- 浩然 Haoran你觉得这道菜怎么样？Nǐ juéde zhè dào cài zěnmeyàng?What do you think of this dish?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我觉得很奇怪，一点也不好吃。Wǒ juéde hěn qíguài, yīdiǎn yě bù hào chī.I think it's very strange, it's not tasty at all.
- 浩然 Haoran是吗？我也觉得味道不对。Shì ma? Wǒ yě juéde wèidào bùduì.Really? I also think the taste is off.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们别吃了。Wǒmen bié chī le.Let's not eat it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
