好
hǎo
good · to like
HSK 1A 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).