好玩儿 (hǎo wán r) — fun, amusing, interesting

Definition

Casual, spoken way to say something is fun or amusing. 逗 is funnier/more laugh-out-loud; 可笑 leans toward 'ridiculous'.

adjective
funamusinginteresting

Examples

  • 好玩儿。
    Zhè běn shū hěn hǎo wán r.
    This book is fun.
  • 好玩儿?
    Nà ge diàn yǐng hěn hǎo wán r ma?
    Is that movie fun?
  • 好玩儿。
    Wǒ jiā de māo hěn hǎo wán r.
    My family's cat is amusing.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

好玩fun
好hǎopleasant玩wánplay
偏正Modifier + head
儿érerhua

好玩儿 uses 好 for pleasant and 玩 for play, with 儿 giving the colloquial spoken shape.

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán玩wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

玩 pairs 玉 (jade) with 元 (yuán) for sound. The jade part points to toys made of jade.

Open 玩 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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