Chinese word

好坏

Pronunciation

Pinyinhǎo huài

Meaning

  • noungood and bad

Example

你能分辨好坏吗？nǐ néng fēn biàn hǎo huài ma

Can you distinguish good from bad?

Illustration for 好坏 (good and bad)

More examples

通过评价，我们可以区分好坏。tōng guò píng jià wǒ men ké yǐ qū fēn hǎo huài

Through evaluation, we can distinguish good from bad.

Core concept

A two-sided measure of quality, value, or conduct, with one side showing merit and the other showing fault.

Common phrases

  • 区分好坏qū fēn hǎo huài

    distinguish good from bad

  • 分清好坏fēn qīng hǎo huài

    clearly distinguish good from bad

  • 看出好坏kàn chū hǎo huài

    tell good from bad

Similar words

优点yōu diǎn: A particular good feature or strength of a thing.
缺点quē diǎn: A particular bad feature or weakness of a thing.
利弊lì bì: The benefits and drawbacks of an action or choice considered together.
优劣yōu liè: The relative merits and faults of things judged side by side.

Definition in Chinese

表示对事物或行为的评价，侧重区分良与劣，可用于品质、价值或表现的判断的名词。biǎo shì duì shì wù huò xíng wéi de píng jià cè zhòng qū fēn liáng yǔ liè kě yòng yú pǐn zhì jià zhí huò biǎo xiàn de pàn duàn de míng cí

Word origin

好坏 (hǎohuài, "good and bad") places the positive term 好 (hǎo, "good") before its negative counterpart 坏 (huài, "bad"), turning a pair of opposites into a label for evaluation.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this compact noun gives an overall assessment of a product, result, or person's conduct, while English often names the particular feature being assessed.

Other meanings

  • strengths and weaknessesnoun
  • good and evilnoun

Related words

  • 好坏不一hǎo huài bù yīuneven in qualityidiom
  • 好坏分明hǎo huài fēn míngclearly distinguishable in qualityadjective

Word lists with this word