hǎo · hào
good; well · be fond of
Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 4 wordsGood; friendly; suitable
Be fond of; inclined toward
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 好 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 호
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 女 · 38 · 3 residual strokes
女 is on the left and 子 on the right. The Ministry of Education’s variant dictionary documents early forms with the components in either order. The standardized modern arrangement should not be projected onto every earlier specimen.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
6 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences這是一個好主意。
这是一个好主意。
This is a good idea.
我對這個字的歷史很好奇。
我对这个字的历史很好奇。
I am very curious about this character’s history.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
Sentence context · 2 matches
他对什么都感好奇。
Source, contributors & licenses
Mandarin: Tatoeba #401025 · Original contributor: FeuDRenais · CC BY 2.0 FR · Attribution log · Current owner: GlossaMatik
English: Tatoeba #401022 · Original contributor: FeuDRenais · CC BY 2.0 FR · Attribution log
Source text unchanged. Original contributor and text editors are credited from the source log, separately from the current owner.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsThe components are clearer than the original meaning
CUHK identifies 女 and 子 in early forms. It reports interpretations involving beauty, affection between mother and child, and affection between the sexes, favoring the mother-and-child account.
A limit explicitly acknowledged by the source
CUHK notes that the early usage examples do not directly display its proposed “mother and child affection” sense. This matters: an interpretation of a drawing and an attested meaning in a text are different kinds of evidence. The portrait retains that distinction.
Reading this character · explanatory note
好 has two essential readings. Hǎo appears in 你好, “hello,” and in descriptions of something good or suitable. Hào appears in 愛好 / 爱好, an interest or a liking, and 好奇, curiosity. The modern shape puts 女 beside 子. CUHK discusses several interpretations of this combination and favors a woman-and-child relationship, while acknowledging that its proposed original meaning is not directly demonstrated in the early usage examples it cites. The shape is worth examining closely; it cannot by itself prove a timeless cultural equation or tell you which reading a modern word requires.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
好 itself is unchanged between simplified and traditional Chinese. Its reading must be learned with the word: hǎo in 好友, hào in 好奇. A pronunciation control or search result must not assign one reading indiscriminately to all its compounds.
子 is only the right-hand component of 好. It is a separate character in its own right; identifying it does not mean the whole character is pronounced zǐ.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- xawX · 呼晧 反切 · #1725
- Middle Chinese
- xawH · 呼到 反切 · #2821
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 11294 · xawX = 效開一上豪曉 · xawH = 效開一去豪曉
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
5 sourcesLocator & rights
Character entry; 形義通解, 繁簡對應, and cited Shuowen discussion where present · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
金周生, 𡥃 (A00883-001), 內容 · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 2 items
- CUHK’s preferred origin interpretation still needs direct comparison with the cited scholarly studies.
- No independent specialist review or image-reuse permission.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- hǎo,hào 21028.010
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- hǎo 0445.030 · hào 0448.030
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- hǎo 132.140 · hào 133.010
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- hǎo(6060) hāo(142) hào(115)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- hǎo粵hou2 hào粵hou3
Reference desk
- Fanqie spellings
- 呼晧 呼到
- Kangxi positions
- 0255.110
- Guangyun positions
- 303.08 419.01
- GSR references
- 1044a
- Cangjie
- VND
- Four-corner
- 4744.7