ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

很 hěn very

How to remember 很: 彳 step forward + 艮 stubborn = very. Every step forward with the stubborn donkey takes ages, and the tourist on its back is getting very impatient.

  • 138. most frequent character
  • HSK 1
  • 9 strokes
  • Radical 彳

Component breakdown

很 = 彳 step forward + 艮 stubborn

  • 彳 step forward
  • 艮 stubborn
The Gushi story

Every step forward with the stubborn donkey takes ages, and the tourist on its back is getting very impatient.

How it is used

  • 'Very' - but also the default glue before a predicate adjective: 我很好 (wǒ hěn hǎo) just means 'I'm fine', not 'very good'.
  • A bare adjective (我好) sounds like an implied comparison, so 很 quietly fills the slot, usually unstressed. For real emphasis, stress it or reach for 非常 (fēicháng).

Example sentences

  • 雪很白。 Xuě hěn bái.Snow is very white.
  • 他很有钱。 Tā hěn yǒu qián.He's a rich man.
  • 天气很冷。 Tiānqì hěn lěng.The weather is very cold.
  • 妈妈很忙。 Māma hěn máng.My mother is very busy.