很好
hěn hǎo
The English phrase "very well" is translated into Chinese as 很好 (hěn hǎo).
While 很好 is a standard way to say "very well," you can use the informal term 牛 to denote something impressive or "awesome."
Meaning: interjection (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of two parts: 很, which means "very" and 好, which can mean both "good" and "well" depending on the context.
Which one should you use?
When you want to express admiration or awe, you might use the informal phrase 非常厉害 instead of the standard 很好.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a predicate to describe a noun (e.g., 'The food is very good'), 很好 is used without the particle 得. However, when describing how an action is performed, 很好 is preceded by the structural particle 得 (de).
How do you pronounce it?
hěn hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 好 (hǎo) is a compound of the radicals for 'woman' and 'child', historically representing the idea of a woman and her child together being 'good'.
- Despite meaning 'very', the word 很 is often used as a grammatical filler to balance a sentence, even when the speaker does not actually mean 'very'.
- While 很好 is a standard compliment, stating it too often in a professional setting can sound like a teacher praising a child rather than a peer giving a compliment.
Examples in context
- 她对他很好。She treated him very well.This sentence is useful for showing how someone treats another person using 很好.Tatoeba #14037690 by jan_OkulaJu, translation #887470 by CK
- 汤姆下棋下得很好。Tom plays chess very well.This sentence shows how to use the particle 得 with 很好 to describe playing chess.Tatoeba #5568484 by Lunar, translation #5553959 by CK
- 他玩得很好。He plays very well.This sentence demonstrates the adverbial use of 很好 to describe how someone plays.Tatoeba #796905 by fucongcong, translation #291858 by CH
- 你的中文说得很好。You speak Chinese very well.
- 你在演讲比赛中的表现十分棒！Your performance in the speech competition was outstanding!
- 这个游戏你玩得太牛了！You played this game awesomely!
- 你的画画技术真的是非常厉害！Your painting skills are truly amazing!
- 30 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A teacher is praising a student's performance in class.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你今天表现得很好。Nǐ jīntiān biǎoxiàn de hěn hǎo.You performed very well today.
- 梓涵 Zihan谢谢老师。Xièxiè lǎoshī.Thank you, teacher.
- 志强 Zhiqiang继续保持。Jìxù bǎochí.Keep it up.
- 梓涵 Zihan我会努力的。Wǒ huì nǔlì de.I will work hard.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
