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Learn 好

hǎo

good

Recognize 好, know its sound, and learn one way to use it.

When you’re ready, mark this character as completed at the end of the lesson.

A Small Hello

1 min illustrated story · A little help remembering 好

Alex greets his neighbour as they step from opposite doors onto the landing.
01

Alex had passed the neighbour across the landing three times without saying much. Each time, he thought of a question just after his own door had closed.

This morning, they stepped out together.

“你好,” Alex said.

The neighbour smiled. “你好.”

Alex and his neighbour talk while walking down the stairs.
02

That was enough to start. They exchanged names, then walked downstairs together. The neighbour asked how the move had gone.

Alex mentioned the boxes. She said she still had one unopened from last year.

He found this reassuring.

Alex introduces his neighbour to Lin outside the building.
03

Outside, Lin was waiting. Alex introduced them. After the neighbour left for work, he tried the greeting again.

“Nǐ hǎo.”

“Hello,” Lin said. “好, hǎo, means good.”

“I had a longer sentence ready.”

“Did you need it?”

Alex chats with his neighbour on the landing as she holds a grocery bag.
04

The next evening, the neighbour waved from her doorway and asked whether he had found the nearest grocery shop.

He had. He knew a useful shortcut, too.

This time, they talked until someone’s shopping bag started to feel heavy.

His longer sentence could wait.

好

One way to use 好.

好 means good in the hǎo reading. 你好 means hello, not simply good. Written pinyin is nǐ hǎo; in connected speech, the first third tone normally changes to a second tone, sounding ní hǎo. The character reading hǎo is its citation form.

你好nǐ hǎohello

Can you recognize it?

Which character means good?

Make 好 part of your Hanzi.

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