Practical Notes

Common Mistakes · Beginner

Common Mistake: 很好 vs 很喜欢

很好 means something is very good; 我很喜欢 means you like it very much.

Quick answer

Use 很好 to describe quality. Use 我很喜欢 to describe your feeling about something.

这个很好。
zhège hěn hǎo.
This is very good.
我很喜欢这个。
wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhège.
I like this very much.

Hear the phrase, then repeat it aloud.

When to use it

Choose 很好 for an evaluation and 喜欢 when expressing that you like someone or something.

Common mistake

很好 does not mean ‘I like it’. It tells the listener that something is good.

Practise aloud

hěn hǎo. 很好。 Very good.
zhège hěn hǎo. 这个很好。 This is very good.
wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhège. 我很喜欢这个。 I really like this.

Say both sentences about the same object. This makes the difference between describing quality and expressing preference clearer.

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