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Fun Stuff (Beginner)
How Can It Be Good?
Learn to Use “好 (Hăo) Good” in Chinese Language
Once there was a very pedantic man who was not well liked by the people around him. So he decided to seek advice from a person whom he thought was smart. The smart man told him that all the people like to hear complimentary words. The smart man continued on to say that when the other people shared something about themselves, the pedantic man should say “好 (hăo) good/ok.” The pedantic man remembered that phrase firmly in his mind. After testing this theory many times, he found it was really very easy to please others by using that phrase. One day, a friend told the pedantic man, “我要回老家去两个星期。(Wŏ yào huí lăojiā qù liăng ge xīngqi.) I need to go back to my home town for two weeks.” The pedantic man responded, “好。(Hăo.) Good/Ok.” His friend continued, “我父亲去世了。(Wŏ fùqin qùshì le.) My father passed away.” “好！(Hăo!) Good/Ok!” the pedantic man replied. His friend burst into a rage immediately. “我父亲去世了，还好？(Wŏ fùqin qùshì le, hái hăo?) I lost my father. How can this be good?” The pedantic man was confused and a bit startled by his friend’s sudden reaction.
Of course, this story is just a joke. However, it shows us the importance of using words properly in our daily conversations. Today, let’s learn how to use “好 (hăo) good/ok” properly in Mandarin Chinese conversations.
“好 (Hăo) Good/Ok” is often used as an affirmative response to inquiries or suggestions in certain sentence patterns, such as “…好吗 (hăo ma)？… Ok?”, “…好不好 (hăobu hăo)？…Ok?”, “...吧 (ba)! How about…?”, “…怎么样 (zĕnmeyàng)？How about…?”
Example One:
Lĭ Méi: Lìli, wŏ chuān hóng sè de qúnzi, hăo ma?
李 梅：丽丽，我 穿 红 色 的 裙子，好 吗？
Li Mei: Lili, I would like to wear the red dress, ok?
Lìli: Hăo.
丽丽：好。
Lili: Good/Ok.
Example One:
Nánhái: Zhōumò wŏmen qù kàn diànyĭng, hăobuhăo？
男孩： 周末 我们 去 看 电影， 好不好？
Boy: Let’s go see the movie on the weekend, ok?
Nǚhái: Hăo.
女孩：好。
Girl: Good/Ok.
Example Three:
Lǐ Míng: Wáng Lì, wŏmen zhōumò qù pá shān ba!
李 明： 王 力，我们 周末 去 爬 山 吧！
Li Ming: Wang Li, how about we go hiking this weekend?
Wáng Lì: Hăo.
王 力：好。
Wang Li: Good/Ok.
Example Four:
Érzi: Māma, jīntiān wănshang wŏmen chī jiăozi, zĕnmeyàng?
儿子：妈妈，今天 晚上 我们 吃 饺子， 怎么样？
Son: Mum, how about we eat dumplings tonight?
Māma: Hăo.
妈妈：好。
Mum: Good/Ok.
“好 (Hăo) Ok” can also be used to show one’s agreement to a request made by others.
Example One:
Wáng Lì: Lăobăn, wŏ shēngbìng le, xiăng qĭng yí ge xīngqī de jià.
王 力：老板， 我 生病 了，想 请 一 个 星期 的 假。
Wang Li: Boss, I am sick.May I have a week’s leave?
Lăobăn: Hăo.
老板：好。
Boss: Ok.
Example Two:
Xiăo Míng: Wáng Lì, wŏ néng yòng yíxià nĭ de diànnăo ma?
小 明： 王 力，我 能 用 一下 你 的 电脑 吗？
Xiao Ming: Wang Li, can I use your computer for a while?
Wáng Lì: Hăo.
王 力：好。
Wang Li: Ok.
Once there was a very pedantic man who was not well liked by the people around him. So he decided to seek advice from a person whom he thought was smart. The smart man told him that all the people like to hear complimentary words. The smart man continued on to say that when the other people shared something about themselves, the pedantic man should say “好 (hăo) good/ok.” The pedantic man remembered that phrase firmly in his mind. After testing this theory many times, he found it was really very easy to please others by using that phrase. One day, a friend told the pedantic man, “我要回老家去两个星期。(Wŏ yào huí lăojiā qù liăng ge xīngqi.) I need to go back to my home town for two weeks.” The pedantic man responded, “好。(Hăo.) Good/Ok.” His friend continued, “我父亲去世了。(Wŏ fùqin qùshì le.) My father passed away.” “好！(Hăo!) Good/Ok!” the pedantic man replied. His friend burst into a rage immediately. “我父亲去世了，还好？(Wŏ fùqin qùshì le, hái hăo?) I lost my father. How can this be good?” The pedantic man was confused and a bit startled by his friend’s sudden reaction.
Of course, this story is just a joke. However, it shows us the importance of using words properly in our daily conversations. Today, let’s learn how to use “好 (hăo) good/ok” properly in Mandarin Chinese conversations.
“好 (Hăo) Good/Ok” is often used as an affirmative response to inquiries or suggestions in certain sentence patterns, such as “…好吗 (hăo ma)？… Ok?”, “…好不好 (hăobu hăo)？…Ok?”, “...吧 (ba)! How about…?”, “…怎么样 (zĕnmeyàng)？How about…?”
Example One:
Lĭ Méi: Lìli, wŏ chuān hóng sè de qúnzi, hăo ma?
李 梅：丽丽，我 穿 红 色 的 裙子，好 吗？
Li Mei: Lili, I would like to wear the red dress, ok?
Lìli: Hăo.
丽丽：好。
Lili: Good/Ok.
Example One:
Nánhái: Zhōumò wŏmen qù kàn diànyĭng, hăobuhăo？
男孩： 周末 我们 去 看 电影， 好不好？
Boy: Let’s go see the movie on the weekend, ok?
Nǚhái: Hăo.
女孩：好。
Girl: Good/Ok.
Example Three:
Lǐ Míng: Wáng Lì, wŏmen zhōumò qù pá shān ba!
李 明： 王 力，我们 周末 去 爬 山 吧！
Li Ming: Wang Li, how about we go hiking this weekend?
Wáng Lì: Hăo.
王 力：好。
Wang Li: Good/Ok.
Example Four:
Érzi: Māma, jīntiān wănshang wŏmen chī jiăozi, zĕnmeyàng?
儿子：妈妈，今天 晚上 我们 吃 饺子， 怎么样？
Son: Mum, how about we eat dumplings tonight?
Māma: Hăo.
妈妈：好。
Mum: Good/Ok.
“好 (Hăo) Ok” can also be used to show one’s agreement to a request made by others.
Example One:
Wáng Lì: Lăobăn, wŏ shēngbìng le, xiăng qĭng yí ge xīngqī de jià.
王 力：老板， 我 生病 了，想 请 一 个 星期 的 假。
Wang Li: Boss, I am sick.May I have a week’s leave?
Lăobăn: Hăo.
老板：好。
Boss: Ok.
Example Two:
Xiăo Míng: Wáng Lì, wŏ néng yòng yíxià nĭ de diànnăo ma?
小 明： 王 力，我 能 用 一下 你 的 电脑 吗？
Xiao Ming: Wang Li, can I use your computer for a while?
Wáng Lì: Hăo.
王 力：好。
Wang Li: Ok.
