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好看 (hǎo kàn) — good-looking; nice-looking; (of a book, movie, etc.) good, enjoyable

Definition

Everyday adjective meaning 'good-looking' (people, clothes) and 'good, enjoyable' (books, movies, shows). For a man, 帅 is more common; 好看 works for anyone.

adjective
good-lookingnice-looking(of a book, movie, etc.) goodenjoyable

Examples

  • 好看。
    Zhè jiàn yī fu hěn hǎo kàn.
    This piece of clothing is very nice-looking.
  • 好看！
    Zhè běn shū zhēn hǎo kàn!
    This book is really good!
  • 好看。
    Tā hěn hǎo kàn.
    She is very good-looking.

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
看kànlook

好 'good' and 看 'look' together mean pleasant to look at.

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 →

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

Grammar

Appears in
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