---
title: "好不 + adjective (= very) in Chinese Grammar: How very …! (not a negative), With Examples"
description: "好不 + adjective (= very): how very …! (not a negative). 好不 + two-syllable adjective is an exclamation: 好不热闹 “so lively!” — the 不 does not negate. 3 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/hao-bu-adj"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 好不 + adjective (= very)

How very …! (not a negative)

好不 + two-syllable adjective is an exclamation: 好不热闹 “so lively!” — the 不 does not negate.

## In stories

美猴王领着群猴，日游花果山，夜宿水帘洞，独自为王，**好不快活**，一晃便是三五百年。

[美猴王 · The Handsome Monkey King](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/monkey-king-born-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-1#library-word-1037-1041)

从此众猴各执兵器，日日操练，**好不威风**。

[龙宫借宝 · The Dragon King’s Treasure](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-dragon-kings-treasure-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-4#library-word-379-383)

他昼夜不眠，殷勤喂养，不到半月，便把一千匹天马养得膘肥体壮，自以为做了个天大的官，**好不得意**。

[大闹地府 · Trouble in the Underworld](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/trouble-in-the-underworld-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-5#library-word-1189-1193)

[Read 美猴王](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/monkey-king-born-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-1#library-word-1037-1041)

## More patterns

- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)
- [一点(儿) + 也/都 + 不/没 not … at all](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yidian-ye-neg)

## What does 好不 + adjective (= very) mean in Chinese?

How very …! (not a negative). 好不 + two-syllable adjective is an exclamation: 好不热闹 “so lively!” — the 不 does not negate.

## How common is 好不 + adjective (= very)?

It comes up in 3 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.