HSK · Level 22
135 words
Chinese word
蛮
Pronunciation
Pinyinmán
Meaning
- adverbquite
Example
这件衣服蛮漂亮。zhè jiàn yī fú mán piào liàng
This outfit is quite pretty.
More examples
他的主意蛮有意思。tā de zhǔ yì mán yǒu yì si
His idea is quite interesting.
Core concept
A noticeably strong quality rather than a mild one, with a rough edge in some fixed compounds.
Common phrases
蛮漂亮mán piào liàng
quite pretty
蛮有意思mán yǒu yì si
quite interesting
蛮好mán hǎo
quite good
Similar words
很hěn: A general degree adverb used before an adjective to mark a high degree.
非常fēi cháng: A strong adverb meaning very, used to mark an especially high degree.
挺tǐng: A spoken adverb meaning quite, placed before an adjective to mark a fairly high degree.
Definition in Chinese
作副词时表示程度，相当或比较，多用于口语，通常放在形容词前；也可在合成词中表示粗鲁、蛮横的含义。zuò fù cí shí biǎo shì chéng dù xiāng dāng huò bǐ jiào duō yòng yú kóu yǔ tōng cháng fàng zài xíng róng cí qián yě kě zài hé chéng cí zhōng biǎo shì cū lǔ mán hèng de hán yì
Word origin
蛮 (mán, "quite") is the simplified form of 蠻 (mán, "rough"), and the older roughness sense remains in compounds while spoken Chinese extended the word to mark a noticeable degree.
Usage tips
- Its adverbial use is strongly conversational and normally sits immediately before an adjective, while formal prose often chooses a more neutral degree adverb.
Other meanings
- roughadjective
Related words
- 蛮横mán hèngdomineeringadjective
- 蛮不讲理mán bù jiáng lǐunreasonableidiom
- 蛮干mán gànact recklesslyverb