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友好 (yǒu hǎo) — friendly, amicable

Definition

General word for 'friendly' — describes people, behavior, or relations (两国友好). Lighter and broader than 友善 (a warmer, kinder quality) and 更 about getting along than 融洽 (which emphasizes harmony in relationships/atmosphere).

adjective
friendlyamicable

Examples

  • 友好。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de fú wù yuán fēi cháng yǒu hǎo.
    The waiters at this restaurant are very friendly.
  • 友好。
    Liǎng guó bǎo chí zhe yǒu hǎo de guān xì.
    The two countries maintain a friendly relationship.
  • 友好。
    Tā yǒu hǎo dì xiào le.
    She smiled in a friendly way.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

友yǒufriend
好hǎogood

友 and 好 both suggest friendliness or harmony, so the word describes an amicable manner.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Open 友 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Personality & Traits5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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