How it changed
The story you’ll hear
A woman (女) and a child (子). The oracle bone form shows a kneeling woman cradling an infant. The ancient Chinese concept of 'good': a mother with her child. Some scholars argue it originally meant 'to love' — the mother-child bond as the prototype of all affection. The pronunciation shifted, but modern Chinese preserved both readings: hǎo (good) and hào (to love doing something).
What the old dictionaries say
Memory trickWoman (女) + child (子) is right. A mother cradling her baby as China's idea of "good" is a modern story, not something the old sources say. Bonus: 好 has two readings, hǎo (good) and hào (to like).
What it’s made of
woman
childSee it in a story
Related characters
Read characters like this in real stories
Every one has word-level pinyin, narrated audio and tap-to-define.
- HSK 1
The Wrong Phone
Two classmates take identical phones by mistake and can’t unlock them or answer calls.
3 chapters · audio + pinyin
- HSK 2
The Book We Both Wanted
Two customers claim one childhood book; a shopkeeper gives them until six to explain why.
4 chapters · audio + pinyin
- HSK 3
No Seat in the Library
She resents a classmate who keeps saving an empty seat. Then she hears about his sick roommate.
6 chapters · audio + pinyin
- HSK 4
Sunrise on Huangshan
Four friends go to see the Huangshan sunrise and get train delays, a storm, and a bad booking.
6 chapters · audio + pinyin
- HSK 5
Dumplings or Tangyuan
Her first winter solstice as a wife, and her mother-in-law has hidden the tangyuan flour.
6 chapters · audio + pinyin
- HSK 6
The Kitchen Behind the App
Illness complaints lead an inspector to twelve delivery restaurants sharing four kitchens.
6 chapters · audio + pinyin