Chinese word

很

Pronunciation

Pinyinhěn

Meaning

  • adverbvery

Example

这个菜很好吃。zhè ge cài hěn hǎo chī

This dish is very tasty.

Illustration for 很 (very)

More examples

今天很冷。jīn tiān hěn lěng

Today is very cold.

Core concept

A scale marker before a quality word, showing where the subject stands without making the quality extreme.

Common phrases

  • 很好hěn hǎo

    very good

  • 很冷hěn lěng

    very cold

Similar words

太tài: Shows that a quality or state is so strong that it goes beyond the desired limit.

Definition in Chinese

位于主语之后表示判断或程度，用来说明事物的性质或状态达到一定程度，常用于日常口语。wèi yú zhú yǔ zhī hòu biǎo shì pàn duàn huò chéng dù yòng lái shuō míng shì wù de xìng zhì huò zhuàng tài dá dào yí dìng chéng dù cháng yòng yú rì cháng kóu yǔ

Word origin

The written form combines 彳 (chì, "step"), a meaning component, with 艮 (gèn, "stop"), a sound component, and the word developed into a common degree marker before descriptions.

Usage tips

  • In an everyday description, this word can appear even when the speaker feels no strong emotion, so the situation and tone matter more than a dramatic reading.

Other meanings

  • quiteadverb
  • reallyadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word