好吃
delicious; tasty
hǎochī
What does 好吃 mean?
好吃 (hǎochī) is the everyday Chinese adjective for 'tasty / delicious,' built straight from 好 ('good') + 吃 ('to eat') = 'good to eat.' Use it any time food (or anything you put in your mouth) tastes good. One important nuance: 好吃 only applies to solid foods you chew. Drinks use 好喝 (hǎohē, literally 'good to drink') — saying 这杯茶很好吃 sounds wrong because tea is sipped, not eaten. Soup, even though it's drunk in Chinese (喝汤), can sometimes go either way depending on the eating style.
As a Chinese-style compound adjective, 好吃 takes 很 in front in normal positive sentences (这个很好吃, 'this is tasty'); without 很, the bare 好吃 sounds like a half-made comparison. To express 'super tasty,' use 太好吃了 ('so delicious!')
Character breakdown
good
to eat
Memory hook: Literally 'good to eat' — if it's good when you eat it, it's 好吃.
Example sentences
这个菜很好吃。
Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.
This dish is really tasty.
spoken
妈妈做的饭最好吃。
Māma zuò de fàn zuì hǎochī.
The food mom makes is the most delicious.
spoken
中国菜好吃吗？
Zhōngguó cài hǎochī ma?
Is Chinese food tasty?
spoken
这家店有很多好吃的。
Zhè jiā diàn yǒu hěn duō hǎochī de.
This shop has lots of tasty stuff.
spoken
太好吃了！再来一个。
Tài hǎochī le! Zài lái yí ge.
So delicious! One more, please.
spoken
Common phrases with 好吃
Synonyms
美味 ('delicious / a delicacy') is more written/formal — used in food writing, menus, ads. In conversation, just say 好吃.
香 means 'fragrant / smells-and-tastes-good,' often used for cooked food that smells appetizing. 好吃 focuses on the taste in your mouth; 香 includes the aroma. Often paired: 又香又好吃.
Don't confuse 好吃 with
好喝 is for drinks (tea, coffee, juice, soup). 好吃 is for solid food. Beginners commonly say 这个茶很好吃 — wrong; it should be 好喝.
Same 好 + verb pattern, but 好看 means 'good-looking / nice to watch' (for people, scenery, movies). Don't say 好看 about food unless you mean it looks pretty on the plate.
可口 ('palatable / pleasant to the mouth') is more formal/written — used in menus and product names
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