好 meaning and stroke order
Good; appropriate; proper; all right!
How to write 好, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 好
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- good
- appropriate; proper
- all right!
- (before a verb) easy to
- (before a verb) good to
- (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so
- to be fond of; to have a tendency to; to be prone to
How 好 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A woman 女 with a son 子.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 好
好 (hǎo) shows a woman 女 next to a child 子. A mother with her child is a picture of something good.
好 is one of the most common words in Chinese. It describes things as good, and before verbs it forms words like 好吃 (hǎochī, tasty) and 好看 (hǎokàn, good-looking). Example: 这个菜很好吃。(Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.) This dish is very tasty.
Common mistake: Learners often miss that 好 is read hào in 爱好 (àihào, hobby), where it means to be fond of. Saying àihǎo is a common tone error.
Common words with 好
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... | HSK 1 |
| 好吃 | hǎochī | tasty; delicious | HSK 1 |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good | HSK 1 |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | pleasant to hear | HSK 1 |
| 爱好 | àihào | to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby | HSK 1 |
| 好玩儿 | hǎowánr | erhua variant of 好玩[hao3 wan2] | HSK 1 |
| 好像 | hǎoxiàng | as if; to seem like | HSK 2 |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi | to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing | HSK 2 |
| 好多 | hǎoduō | many; quite a lot | HSK 2 |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person | HSK 2 |
| 正好 | zhènghǎo | just (in time); just right | HSK 2 |
| 好事 | hǎoshì | good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed"); charity | HSK 2 |
| 好处 | hǎochù | easy to get along with | HSK 2 |
| 好久 | hǎojiǔ | (coll.) a long time | HSK 2 |
好 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 好
Learning 好 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 好
How many strokes are in 好?
好 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 好 mean?
好 (hǎo) means good; appropriate; proper; all right!. A common word with it is 最好 (zuìhǎo), meaning "best; had better ...; it would be best to ...".
How do you pronounce 好?
好 is pronounced hǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 好?
The radical of 好 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 好 under this radical.
Is 好 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 好 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why do people say 你好 and not just 好?
你好 (nǐ hǎo) literally means "you good" and works as a standard greeting. 好 alone usually means "OK" or "all right" when agreeing to something, as in 好，我们走吧。(Hǎo, wǒmen zǒu ba.) OK, let's go.
What does 好 mean before an adjective, like 好冷?
Before an adjective, 好 can mean "so" or "really" for emphasis. 今天好冷。(Jīntiān hǎo lěng.) means It is so cold today.