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 + Verb / Adj. + 了

Sometimes you'll see an optional 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 / Adj.

Examples

• 他 觉得 他 女朋友 不够 漂亮 。Tā juéde tā nǚpéngyou bù gòu piàoliang.He thinks his girlfriend is not pretty enough.
• 你 说 得 不够 具体 。Nǐ shuō de bù gòu jùtǐ.You didn't speak very specifically.
• 这些 菜 不够 吃 ，再 点 几 个 菜 。Zhèxiē cài bù gòu chī, zài diǎn jǐ gè cài.These dishes are not enough to eat. Let's order some more.
• 这里 太 小 了 ，不够 坐 。Zhèlǐ tài xiǎo le, bùgòu zuò.It's too small here. It's not big enough to sit.
• 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.

Colloquial Saying

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

A few common examples:

• 天天 吃 外卖，我们 都 吃 够了 。Tiāntiān chī wàimài, wǒmen dōu chī gòu le.We eat take-away every day. We're sick of eating it.
• 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 wán 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.

See also

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