好久 (hǎo jiǔ) — quite a while, a long time | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An informal, conversational 'a long time' — used especially with 没 to say how long since something happened. 久 is the plain neutral adjective; 长久/久远 are more formal or refer to remote, enduring time.

adjective

quite a whilea long time

Examples

好久。
Wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo jiǔ méi qù gōng yuán le.
I haven't gone to the park for quite a while.
好久。
Tā hǎo jiǔ méi gěi wǒ dǎ diàn huà le.
He hasn't called me for a long time.
好久，？
hǎo jiǔ Bú jiàn, nǐ zuì jìn hǎo ma?
Long time no see, how are you recently?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

好 'quite' and 久 'long' together mean a long time.

Characters in this word

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

女子好

女女nǚwoman
子子zǐchild

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

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

久 likely came from a simple drawing of an arrow tip.

Appears in

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