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好过 (hǎo guò) — to have an easy time; to be in comfortable circumstances; to feel better (especially after illness or hardship)

Definition

A colloquial adjective used as a complement meaning 'feel better' after illness or hardship, or that life is bearable/easier than before. Pairs with the 比-comparison or 多了/一点儿; it is not a neutral 'good'.

adjective
to have an easy timeto be in comfortable circumstancesto feel better (especially after illness or hardship)

Examples

  • ，好过。
    Tā zhǎo dào yí fèn hǎo gōng zuò, rì zi bǐ cóng qián hǎo guò duō le.
    He found a good job, and life is much easier than before.
  • ，好过？
    Chī le zhè yào, nǐ jué de hǎo guò yì diǎn r le ma?
    After taking this medicine, do you feel a bit better?
  • ，，好过。
    Suī rán shōu rù bù gāo, dàn yì jiā rén dōu jiàn kāng, jiù hǎo guò le.
    Even though the income isn't high, as long as the whole family is healthy, life is bearable.

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hǎoeasy
过guòget through

好 (easy) and 过 (get through) combine to mean easy to get through, hence comfortable or feeling better.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsGood & Bad

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