Chinese word

说好

Pronunciation

Pinyinshuō hǎo

Meaning

  • verbpromise

Example

我们说好明天九点见。wǒ men shuō hǎo míng tiān jiú diǎn jiàn

We promised to meet at nine tomorrow.

Illustration for 说好 (promise)

More examples

去郊游前，我们先说好集合时间。qù jiāo yóu qián wǒ men xiān shuō hǎo jí hé shí jiān

Before going on a picnic, we first agreed on the meeting time.

Core concept

An oral arrangement reaches the point where both sides treat it as settled.

Common phrases

  • 跟朋友说好gēn péng yǒu shuō hǎo

    promise a friend

  • 先说好集合时间xiān shuō hǎo jí hé shí jiān

    agree on the meeting time in advance

Similar words

约好yuē hǎo: Arrange a future meeting or action ahead of time by mutual agreement.
答应dā yìng: Say yes to a request and promise to carry it out.

Definition in Chinese

用口头决定并相互同意某个安排，常用于约定见面、时间或分工。yòng kǒu tóu jué dìng bìng xiāng hù tóng yì mǒu gè ān pái cháng yòng yú yuē dìng jiàn miàn shí jiān huò fēn gōng

Word origin

说好 (shuōhǎo, "promise") is built from 说 (shuō, "speak") + 好 (hǎo, "good"), with 好 acting as a result complement that marks the spoken arrangement as settled.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, it often covers a practical arrangement, while formal written agreements call for more formal wording.

Other meanings

  • decideverb
  • agreeverb

Opposites

  • 食言shí yánbreak a promiseverb

Word lists with this word