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.

Note that 了 can't be used when it's negated.

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 清楚 。Nǐ shuō de bù gòu qīngchǔ.You didn't speak very clearly.
• 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." 这些动词比较有限。常用的是：吃、喝、玩、看、听等感官类的。

A few common examples:

• 我 受 够 了 ！Wǒ shòu gòu le!I had enough of it!
• 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.
• 你 玩 够了 没有 ？Nǐ wán gòu le méiyǒu?Are you done playing or not?

See also

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