Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 棒 | bàng |
| 奇妙 | qímiào |
The term "wonderful" can be expressed in several ways depending on the context. Use 棒 to describe people or things that are excellent, great or impressive in a colloquial way. Use 奇妙 when describing something that is wonderful in a sense of being marvelous, mysterious or wondrous. For more intense or formal expressions of being extraordinary or marvelous, you can use 绝妙.
What does it mean word for word?
The character 棒 literally means a stick or a club, but in modern slang, it is used to mean excellent.
Which one should you use?
棒 is used for people or things that are excellent or great in a colloquial sense. In contrast, 奇妙 is used for things that are wonderful in a sense of being marvelous, mysterious or wondrous.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the adjective 棒, it is common to add the adverb 很 before it to make the adjective sound complete, even if you do not intend to emphasize the word "very". To express "wonderful!" or "That's great!", you can add 太 before and 了 after 棒 to form 太棒了.
How do you pronounce it?
bàng
Did you know?
- When someone says 太棒了 to praise you, a common humble response in Chinese culture is to disagree and say 'no, no', rather than simply saying 'thank you'.
- The colloquial word for wonderful, 棒, evolved from meaning a wooden club to meaning 'hard' and eventually to 'excellent'.
- When using the slang for wonderful, 棒, you often have to say 'very' (很) even if you don't actually mean something is 'very' wonderful.
Examples in context
- 语言很奇妙。Language is wonderful.This sentence shows how to use 奇妙 to describe language.Tatoeba #1541727 by sadhen, translation #7766834 by sharris123
- 很棒！Wonderful!This is a common way to say "Wonderful!" using 棒.Tatoeba #5092136 by mirrorvan, translation #433510 by CK
- 啊，真棒！Ah, wonderful.This demonstrates an exclamation of praise using 棒.Tatoeba #718390 by egg0073, translation #273928 by zzxjoanw
- 当你尝过奶奶的饺子，你会发现它们真的非常棒！When you taste Grandma's dumplings, you'll find them truly wonderful!
- 昨晚的芭蕾表演真是绝妙！The ballet performance last night was absolutely wonderful!
- 你的新车看起来太棒了！Your new car looks awesome!
- 今天的天气真好，非常适合野餐！The weather today is really wonderful, perfect for a picnic!
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a new restaurant.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那家餐厅的菜真的很棒。Nà jiā cāntīng de cài zhēn de hěn bàng.The food at that restaurant is really wonderful.
- 伟 Wei是吗？我也想去试试。Shì ma? Wǒ yě xiǎng qù shì shì.Really? I want to try it too.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你去了一定不会后悔。Nǐ qù le yī dìng bú huì hòu huǐ.You won't regret going.
- 伟 Wei太好了，谢谢你的推荐。Tài hǎo le, xiè xiè nǐ de tuī jiàn.That's great, thanks for the recommendation.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wonderful” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 棒, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
