叫好 (jiào hǎo) — to applaud by shouting 'bravo!'; to cheer loudly | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

叫好 (jiào hǎo) means to shout 'bravo!' — a vocal audience reaction, distinct from 鼓掌 (clapping) and 欢呼 (general cheering). Often used for performances or plays.

verb

to applaud by shouting 'bravo!'to cheer loudly

Examples

叫好。
Guān zhòng kàn dào jīng cǎi chù fēn fēn jiào hǎo.
The audience burst into cheers at the brilliant part.
，。
Tā chàng wán zuì hòu yí gè gāo yīn, tái xià lián shēng jiào hǎo.
After he finished the last high note, the audience repeatedly shouted 'bravo'.
。
Dà jiā dōu wèi zhè chū xì jiào le yī shēng hǎo.
Everybody let out a cheer for this opera.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

The word pictures shouting 叫 out 好 as approval, hence cheering or applauding.

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.

口丩叫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū叫jiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Attitudes & Opinions Communication & Speech

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.