很
very
Say it yourself
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HSK level
- Pinyin
- hěn
- Part of speech
- adverb
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 9
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 很
很 is written with 9 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 很 mean?
很 (hěn) is the most common Chinese intensifier, usually translated as 'very,' but its real job is grammatical, not emphatic.
In Chinese, an adjective on its own often implies a comparison (我累 'I'm tired (in contrast to others)'), so native speakers add 很 to make the sentence sound complete and neutral: 我很累 simply means 'I'm tired,' not necessarily 'I'm VERY tired.' This is why textbooks teach 很 as a near-mandatory partner for predicate adjectives. When 很 is stressed in speech, it does function as 'very' — but the unstressed default is closer to 'is.'
For real emphasis Chinese uses 非常, 特别, 真, or 太. 很 is one of the first 50 characters every learner meets.
Memory hook: Think of 很 as the invisible 'is' that glues a Chinese subject to an adjective — 'I [is] tired' becomes 我很累.
Hear 很 in real episodes
很 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
很多人洗完头发，用很冷的水冲一下。
Many people rinse their hair with very cold water after washing it.
Dermatologists Debunk the Cold-Water Hair Rinse Myth: It Won't Boost Shine
Example sentences
我很好。
Wǒ hěn hǎo.
I'm fine.
neutral
她很漂亮。
Tā hěn piàoliang.
She is pretty.
neutral
今天很冷。
Jīntiān hěn lěng.
It's cold today.
spoken
我有很多朋友。
Wǒ yǒu hěn duō péngyou.
I have a lot of friends.
neutral
Common phrases with 很
Synonyms
Don't confuse 很 with
狠 (with the 'dog' radical 犭) means 'ruthless / fierce,' as in 狠心 'hard-hearted.' Same pinyin and tone, but a totally different character and meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
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