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好家伙 (hǎo jiā huo) — (interjection) good heavens!; wow! (expressing surprise, admiration, or disbelief)

Definition

Interjection (口语) expressing strong surprise — 'wow! / good heavens!' — often with a hint of admiration or disbelief at something impressive or unexpected.

interjection
good heavens!wow! (expressing surprise, admiration, or disbelief)

Examples

  • 好家伙，！
    hǎo jiā huo, Zhè fáng zi kě zhēn dà a!
    Good heavens, this house is really huge!
  • 好家伙，。
    hǎo jiā huo, Tā jū rán yí gè rén wán chéng le suǒ yǒu gōng zuò.
    Wow, he actually finished all the work by himself.
  • 好家伙，！
    hǎo jiā huo, Nǐ zhè yì quán dǎ dé zhēn hěn!
    What a punch! That was really powerful!

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hǎogood
家伙fellow
家jiāfamily伙huǒpartner
联合Coordinate

家 and 伙 together name a fellow, and 好 expresses good, making an exclamation.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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