HSK · Level 3
131 words
Chinese word
也好
Pronunciation
Pinyinyě hǎo
Meaning
- particleokay
Example
你不去也好，我自己去。nǐ bú qù yé hǎo wǒ zì jǐ qù
It's okay if you don't go; I'll go myself.
More examples
他决定不参加，也好，大家也省事。tā jué dìng bù cān jiā yé hǎo dà jiā yě shěng shì
He decided not to participate; that's fine, and it saves everyone trouble.
Core concept
Accepts a different outcome as fine, including an action that does not happen.
Common phrases
不去也好bú qù yé hǎo
it's okay not to go
这样也好zhè yàng yé hǎo
that's fine too
Similar words
好吧hǎo ba: Signals willing agreement with a plan, choice, or suggestion.
也行yě xíng: Says that a particular method or choice will do.
算了suàn le: Shows that further effort is being dropped because the matter is no longer worth pursuing.
Definition in Chinese
作语气助词，表示对前述情况表示同意或不介意，含义接近“可以不去”或“这样也行”，常见结构为“不做/不去也好”。zuò yǔ qì zhù cí biǎo shì duì qián shù qíng kuàng biǎo shì tóng yì huò bú jiè yì hán yì jiē jìn ké yǐ bú qù huò zhè yàng yě xíng cháng jiàn jié gòu wèi bú zuò bú qù yé hǎo
Word origin
也好 (yěhǎo, "also acceptable") combines 也 (yě, "also") with 好 (hǎo, "good"), so an additional or different outcome is treated as acceptable.
Usage tips
- English okay often signals approval of a plan, while this word more often signals that a different outcome causes no problem, so it can sound accepting rather than enthusiastic.