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好比 (hǎo bǐ) — to be like; to be comparable to

Definition

好比 (hǎobǐ) is a written/literary 'is like', used in comparisons and similes. Closer to 如同 than to everyday 像.

verb
to be liketo be comparable to

Examples

  • 好比，。
    Rén shēng hǎo bǐ lǚ tú, chōng mǎn le wèi zhī.
    Life is like a journey, full of unknowns.
  • 好比，。
    Xué xí hǎo bǐ zhòng dì, xū yào nài xīn.
    Studying is like farming; you need patience.
  • 好比，。
    Zhè ge ruǎn jiàn hǎo bǐ yí gè gōng jù xiāng, gōng néng qí quán.
    This software is like a toolbox; it has all the functions.

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hǎojust
比bǐcompare

好 (just) and 比 (compare) mean can be compared to.

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.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Comparison & Degree

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