HSK Guide

好奇 hàoqí — curious, inquisitive

hàoqí (fourth tone, falling)hao4qi2

curious, inquisitive

HSK 4· HSK 1–4 (classic)adjective
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Meanings

  1. curious, inquisitive

    好 here is hào, "to be fond of", not hǎo "good" — 好奇 is literally a fondness for the strange, the wish to know more about whatever has caught one’s attention. It takes 对: 对……好奇, curious about something.

    adjective

Character breakdown

  • 好
    hǎo (third tone, dipping) hào (fourth tone, falling)

    good, fine, well; easy to do; (hào) to be fond of, to like

    6 strokes⿰女子Radical 女

Example sentences

  • 孩子对什么都很好奇，总是问为什么。孩子對什麼都很好奇，總是問為什麼。Háizi (second tone, rising) duì (fourth tone, falling) shénme (second tone, rising) dōu (first tone, high and level) hěn (third tone, dipping) hàoqí, (fourth tone, falling) zǒngshì (third tone, dipping) wèn (fourth tone, falling) wèishénme. (fourth tone, falling)···

    Children are curious about everything — always asking why.

  • 我很好奇，这个句子是什么意思？我很好奇，這個句子是什麼意思？Wǒ (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) hàoqí, (fourth tone, falling) zhège (fourth tone, falling) jùzi (fourth tone, falling) shì (fourth tone, falling) shénme (second tone, rising) yìsi? (fourth tone, falling)···

    I’m curious — what does this sentence mean?

Common mistakes

  • Not quite我对中国的历史很奇怪。

    Correct我对中国的历史很好奇。

    奇怪 says the thing itself is strange; 好奇 says the person wants to know more about it. Chinese history is not odd — the speaker is simply curious about it, so the sentence needs 好奇, not 奇怪.

Similar words

Words containing 好