hao

Everyday

1. (Mandarin, pinyin) Hǎo means «good», «well» or «fine»; it is one of the most common Chinese words. tree →
2. (Mandarin, pinyin) «Nǐ hǎo» (you good) means «hello». tree →
3. (Mandarin, pinyin) Hào, said with a different tone, can mean a number or a date in the month, as in «sān hào» (the 3rd). tree →

In the lessons

In Mandarin lessons and on the street, children hear «nǐ hǎo» as a greeting and «hǎo» as «OK, good». To an English ear «hao» sounds like «how», with the tone going down and then up. The Chinese character for hǎo (好) is made of «woman» and «child» side by side. It is not an English word.

Examples

• (Mandarin) «Nǐ hǎo!» means «Hello!» tree →
• (Mandarin) «Hǎo» means «good» or «OK». tree →
• (Mandarin) «Nǐ hǎo ma?» means «How are you?» tree →
• (Mandarin) «Hěn hǎo» means «very good». tree →
• The character 好 is said «hǎo». tree →
• Our teacher said «hǎo» sounds a bit like the English word «how». tree →

Note

Not an English word. In pinyin the tone mark matters: hǎo (third tone) = good; hào (fourth tone) = number, date or to like. Without tone marks, «hao» is ambiguous. Pinyin «h» is breathier than English «h».