Expressing "enough" with "gou"

Affirmative Form

In Chinese the word for "enough" comes before a verb more often than after an adjective. When it comes before an adjective, 了 is needed at the end of the sentence.

Structure

Subj. + 够 + Predicate (+ 了)

Sometimes you'll see a 了 added after the verb for emphasis (as in "no, really, it's enough!").

Examples

• 他 对 你 够 好 了 。Tā duì nǐ gòu hǎo le.He's been good enough to you.
• 别 抱怨 了 ，你 已经 够 幸运 了 。Bié bàoyuàn le, nǐ yǐjīng gòu xìngyùn le.Stop complaining. You've been lucky enough.
• 我们 只 有 三 个 人 ，你 的 车 肯定 够 坐 。Wǒmen zhǐ yǒu sān gè rén, nǐ de chē kěndìng gòu zuò.We only have three people. I'm sure your car is big enough to sit in.
• 这些 纸 够 用 吗 ？Zhèxiē zhǐ gòu yòng ma?Are these paper good enough to use?
• 放心 吧 ，我 带 的 钱 够 花 。Fàngxīn ba, wǒ dài de qián gòu huā.Don't worry. I've brought enough money to spend.

Negative Form

Structure

Subj. + 不够 + Verb

Examples

• 你 家 太 小 了 ，恐怕 不够 住 。Nǐ jiā tài xiǎo le, kǒngpà bùgòu zhù.Your house is too small. I'm afraid it's not big enough to live in.
• 你 的 包 太 小 了，这些 东西 肯定不够 放 。Nǐ de bāo tài xiǎo le, zhème duō dōngxi kěndìng bùgòu fàng.You bag is too small. These stuff definitely can't fit in it.
• 办公室 的 纸 不够 用 了，你 明天 去 买 一些 吧 。Bàngōngshì de zhǐ bùgòu yòng le, nǐ míngtiān qù mǎi yīxiē ba.The paper in the office is not enough to use. You should go buy some tomorrow.
• 这些 菜 不够 吃 ，再 点 几 个 菜 。These food are not enough to eat. We need to order a few more dishes.

Colloquial Saying 够了

Literally 够了 means "it's enough." the speaker is "getting sick of [doing] something" or "done with [doing] something."

A few common examples:

• 别 说 了！ 这些 话 我 已经 听 够 了！Bié shuō le, zhèxiē huà wǒ yǐjīng tīng gòu le.Stop talking! I've heard enough of it!
• 你 今天 玩 游戏 已经 玩 了 三 个 小时 了，玩 够 了 没有？！Nǐ jīntiān wán yóuxì yǐjīng wǎn le sān gè xiǎoshí le, wán gòu le méiyǒu?!You've been playing games for three hours today. Are you not done yet?
• 我 受 够 了！我 一定 要 跟 他 离婚！Wǒ shòu gòu le! Wǒ yīdìng yào gēn tā líhūn!I had enough of him. I'm definitely going to divorce him.
• 你 天天 都 叫 外卖，还没 吃 够 吗？Nǐ tiāntiān dū jiào wàimài, hái méi chī gòu ma?You order takeout every day. Haven't you gotten sick of eating it?

See also

• The "zui" superlative
• Expressing "excessively" with "tai"