Difference between revisions of "Using "hao" to mean "easy""

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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
Using 好 (hǎo) to express that something is "easy to do" or "good to do" is quite easy to do! All you need is placing a "好" (hǎo) before a verb.
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Using 好 (hǎo) to express that something is "easy to do" or "good to do" is... quite easy to do! All you need to do is place a "好" (hǎo) before a verb.
  
 
== General Verbs ==
 
== General Verbs ==
  
Just as 难 (nán) can be used to indicate that it's [[Difficult to do something|hard to do something]], 好 (hǎo) can be attached to verbs, except sensitive words, to indicate that something is ''easy to do''. The structure is, simply:
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Just as 难 (nán) can be used to indicate that it's [[Difficult to do something|hard to do something]], 好 (hǎo) can be attached to verbs, except sensitive words, to indicate that something is ''easy to do.'' The structure is, simply:
  
 
=== Structure ===
 
=== Structure ===
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I you want to make a sentence out of it:
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If you want to make a sentence out of it:
  
 
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Revision as of 07:24, 24 June 2015

Using 好 (hǎo) to express that something is "easy to do" or "good to do" is... quite easy to do! All you need to do is place a "好" (hǎo) before a verb.

General Verbs

Just as 难 (nán) can be used to indicate that it's hard to do something, 好 (hǎo) can be attached to verbs, except sensitive words, to indicate that something is easy to do. The structure is, simply:

Structure

The simple form is just:

好 + Verb

If you want to make a sentence out of it:

Subject + (很) 好 + Verb

Examples

  • 好懂Hǎodǒng Easy to understand
  • 这 本 书 很 好懂Zhè běn shū hěn hǎodǒng. This book is easy to understand.
  • 好学Hǎoxiě Easy to write
  • 这 个 汉字 很 好写Zhè gè hànzì hěn hǎoxiě. This Chinese character is easy to write.
  • 好做Hǎozuò Easy to do, easy to make
  • 三明治 很 好做Sān míng zhì hěn hǎozuò. Sandwiches are easy to make.
  • 好买Hǎomǎi Easy to buy (implying it's easy to find and buy).
  • 这 个 东西 现在 很 好买Zhè gè dōngxī xiànzài hěn hǎomǎi. This thing is easy to buy.

Exceptions

好 (hǎo) can also be attached to "sense verbs" (e.g. "look," "taste," "smell," etc.) to indicate that something is 'good to do (rather than "easy to do").

There's a limited number of these, but some of them are super common, so just memorize them as exceptions:

  • 好吃 Hào chī good to taste, good to eat, delicious
  • 好看 Hǎokàn good to look at, good-looking, attractive
  • 好听 Hǎotīnggood to listen to, pleasant to listen to, good-sounding
  • 好闻 Hǎowéngood to smell, smells good, good-smelling

The word for "fun" in Chinese is also of this form, even though it's not a sense verb:

  • 好玩 Hǎowánfun

Examples

  • 这 首 歌 很 好听Zhè shǒu gē hěn hǎotīng. This song is great.
  • 这 只 小 猫 很 好闻Zhè zhǐ xiǎo māo hěn hǎowén. This little cat smells good.
  • 这 件 衣服 很 好看Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn hǎokàn. This piece of clothing looks good.
  • 你 做 的 菜 很 好吃Nǐ zuò de cài hěn hǎochī. The food you make is delicious.
  • 我 觉得 上海 很 好玩Wǒ juéde Shànghǎi hěn hǎowán. I think Shanghai is a lot of fun.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books