好多 (hǎo duō) — many, a lot of | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

好多 (hǎoduō) is an everyday 'a lot of, many' — used as a set phrase before nouns, more casual than 许多. Unlike 多, it stays one unit and never means 'how' or '-odd'.

numeral

manya lot of

Examples

好多。
Wǒ jiā yǒu hǎo duō píng guǒ.
I have a lot of apples at home.
好多。
Jīn tiān yǒu hǎo duō rén cān jiā jù huì.
Many people are attending the party today.
好多。
Tā mǎi le hǎo duō yī fu.
She bought a lot of clothes.

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 多 'many' together mean many or a lot.

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.

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

Appears in

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