Responding with ‘好的’(hǎo de), ‘好啊’(hǎo a), ‘好吧’(hǎo ba), ‘好嘛’(hǎo ma), ‘好啦’(hǎo la)

好(hǎo) is one of the first characters that you’ll encounter when you start studying Chinese, and anyone can tell you that it means ‘good.’ But there’s a little more to it than that. You can also use it throughout a conversation to acknowledge what the other person is saying.

When used as a reply, it can mean ‘sure,’ ‘fine,’ or ‘ok.’ You can alter the meaning slightly by using different words or interjections after it, such as ‘的(de)’, ‘啊(a)’, ‘吧(ba)’, ‘嘛(ma)’, and ‘啦(la)’. When paired with one of these, 好 can convey different emotions or tones that tell the other person how you feel about what they’re saying.

This article serves as an introduction to these interjections and will help you add more nuance and tone to your everyday conversations with only a few simple words.

好的(hǎo de)

When you add ‘的(de)’ at the end of a sentence, it indicates a confirmation. ‘好的’ means ‘sure’ or ‘ok’ and shows agreement. This interjection is commonly used to accept a request or suggestion and quickly express understanding.

Example

经理：你明天9点前到公司吧！(Jīnglǐ: nǐ míngtiān 9 diǎn qián dào gōngsī ba!)
Manager: Arrive at the company by 9 tomorrow.

小刚：好的。(Xiǎogāng: hǎo de.)
Xiaogang: Sure.

妈妈：你能帮我买点儿鸡蛋吗？(Māma: nǐ néng bāng wǒ mǎi diǎnr jīdàn ma?)
Mum: Can you help buy some eggs for me?

儿子：好的，没问题。(érzi: hǎo de, méi wèntí.)
Son: Sure, no problem.

好啊 (hǎo a)

When you put ‘啊 (a)’ at the end of a sentence, it expresses excitement and enthusiasm. So, ‘好啊’ means ‘yes!’ or ‘okay!’ with a keen tone.

Example

A：你想去那家饭馆吗？ (Nǐ xiǎng qù nà jiā fànguǎn ma?)
Do you want to go to that restaurant?

B：好啊！(Hǎo a!) 
Sure!

 A：我们一起踢足球，怎么样？(Wǒmen yìqǐ tī zúqiú, zěnmeyàng?)
Let’s play football together. How about it?

B：当然 ， 好啊！(Dāngrán， hǎo a!)
Of course, great!

好吧 (hǎo ba)

People often use ‘好吧(hǎo ba)’ to agree to a request or suggestion, but they might not feel very excited about it. This is similar to how English speakers might use ‘ok…’, ‘fine’, or ‘all right.’ For example, if someone suggests going to a restaurant and you reply ‘好吧’, it means you agree, but you aren’t very enthusiastic about that choice.

Example

妈妈：你先把作业写好才可以出去玩。(Mama: nǐ xiān bǎ zuòyè xiě hǎo cái kěyǐ chūqù wán.
Mum: You can go out to play only after you finish your homework first.

儿子：好吧！(ér zǐ: hǎo ba!)
Son: Ok, fine.

老师：下个星期我们有考试，大家请记得。(Lǎoshī : xià ge xīngqī wǒmen yǒu kǎoshì, dàjiā qǐng jìdé.)
Teacher: There’s an exam next week. Please keep it in mind.

学生：好吧！(Xuéshēng: hǎo ba!)
Students: Fine.

好嘛 (hǎo ma)

‘嘛 (ma)’ can make your tone sound more ‘cute’ or lighthearted when making a simple request. That’s why ‘好嘛 (hǎo ma)’ is often used when you’re asking for help and hoping someone will agree. It’s similar to saying ‘please’ or ‘say yes, please’. For example, if you ask your friend to lend you a book and they hesitate, you might say ‘好嘛’ to try and nudge them to let you borrow it.

Example

儿子：我真的很喜欢这个电脑游戏，你买给我吧！(érzi: wǒ zhēnde hěn xǐhuān zhè ge diànnǎo yóuxì, nǐ mǎi gěi wǒ ba!)
Son: I really like this computer game. Buy it for me!

妈妈：走吧，别看了。(Māma: zǒu ba, bié kàn le.)
Mum: Let’s go, stop looking.

儿子：妈，好嘛！就买给我嘛！(érzi: mā, hǎo ma! jiù mǎi gěi wǒ ma!)
Son: Mum, please! Just buy it for me.

妈妈：不行。(Māma: bù xíng.)
Mum: No.

同学：小丽，借我看一下你的作业，行吗？(Tóng xué: Xiǎolì, jiè wǒ kàn yíxià nǐ de zuòyè, xíng ma?)
Classmate: Xiaoli, can I take a look at your homework real quick, is that ok?

小丽：这个啊，让我想想。(Xiǎolì: zhè ge a, ràng wǒ xiǎng xiǎng.)
Xiaoli: well …let me think.

同学：好嘛！(Tóngxué: hǎo ma!)
Classmate: Please!

小丽：那好吧！看完了马上还我。(Xiǎolì: nà hǎo ba! kàn wán le mǎshang huán wǒ.)
Xiaoli: Fine, then! Give it back when you’re done

好啦 (hǎo la)

People use ‘好啦 (hǎo la)’ to show they agree to a request, but they really don’t want to. They may feel like they don’t have another choice. It shows dissent. This is similar to how English speakers might use ‘fine’ or ‘alright then’ when they are really against an idea. ‘好啦’ is similar to ‘好吧’ but with a stronger sense of reluctance. For example, if someone asks you to clean your room and you reply ‘好啦’, it means you will do it, but you really don’t want to.

Example

朋友：好啦，别哭了，我们出去散散步吧！(Péngyǒu: hǎo la, bié kū le, wǒmen chūqù sàn sàn bù ba!)
Friend: Fine, stop crying. Let’s go out for a walk!

小红：好吧！(Xiǎohóng: hǎo ba!)
Xiaohong: Ok.

女儿：爸，可以带我去逛商场吗？(Nǚér: bà, kěyǐ dài wǒ qù guàng shāngchǎng ma?)
Daughter: Dad, can you take me to the mall to go shopping?

爸爸：好啦，好啦！(Bàba: hǎo la, hǎo la!)
Dad: Ok, fine, fine!

Conclusion

By simply adding another character after ‘好(hǎo)’, you can add a variety of different implications to your response, from reluctance to neutrality to enthusiasm.

Mastering this skill can make you both a better speaker and listener of Chinese. These different interjections will help you express yourself more clearly when you say “ok” and help you understand what native Chinese speakers really mean when they say “ok” to you. You can make a surprising leap forward in your Chinese fluency with only a few simple words. 

Now it’s time for you to put them to use and go strike up a conversation with someone, 好嘛！