<p>Sometimes you need to think 很 as a linking verb, in English you never say:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I fine.</p>
<p>but: I am fine.</p>
</li>
<li><p>The soup delicious.</p>
<p>but: The soup tastes delicious.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The same in this case, 很 as a linking verb, you can't omit it.</p>
<p>我 很 好 = I am fine. (not &quot;very well&quot;), there is no &quot;very&quot; involved.</p>
<p>But if you want to express &quot;I am very/quite well&quot;, you need to say:</p>
<p>我 非常 好. (that important note is now you don't need 很 anymore, since 非常 already carried the meaning of BE.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-12T02:42:51.740Z
2016-10-12T02:42:51.740Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
maverickpuss
<p>You must be very cautious about translating 很 in a hyper-literal way. In Mandarin it often functions ONLY to link a noun and adjective, and consequently does not necessarily add the literal sense of "very". Hence your possible reluctance to use "我很好", even though it is the appropriate response for what you want to express, is unwarranted.</p>

<p>This point is mentioned <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-01T22:35:59.217Z
2016-08-01T22:35:59.217Z
Justin W
<p>根据语言环境可以有一下几种回答方式：</p>

<ol>
<li>not bad -  还行</li>
<li>I'm good -  挺好/ （我）挺好</li>
</ol>

<p>... depends on what you want to reply. may be you can give some description about how good you are... :)  so you can start talking with people that you like to...</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T20:46:26.550Z
2016-07-27T20:46:26.550Z
ProgrammingMonkey
<p>I think it is not correct to translate "我很好" into "I am very good". It means "I am doing fine", "I am doing well". When one say "你好吗？"，“好” is an adverb, means "How are you doing"，"Are you doing OK"？</p>

<p>In a less satisfiction case, say “我还好”，"还行吧"，“就那样吧”，“还是那样”。 </p>

<p>Why do not say "我好"？Because it is sound like the adjective "good". People do not use it to themselves.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-11T11:21:56.003Z
2016-08-11T11:21:56.003Z
PdotWang
<p>a: Are you ok？</p>

<p>b: 我很好(I'm good).</p>

<p>In this case, 很 does not mean 'very'. It means 'quite'</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-11T09:21:33.330Z
2016-10-11T23:02:54.187Z
2016-10-11T23:02:54.187Z
b1ueb1ues
<p>We never answer “我好” when asked “你好吗?”. Indeed, these days it's not very common for people to greet others with “你好吗？” face to face, but simply “你好” will do just fine. When greeted with “你好”, we can acknowledge it with the same “你好”. 我很好 sometimes means I am ok (so don't worry about me). Imagine two lovers just broke up but still treat each other as friends. In their letters later on, one may write 我很好，不用担心我. This is the scenario that popped into my head when I first saw this quesiton. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-06T07:41:23.870Z
This. “你好吗？” is actually a translation of "How are you?" which only exists in English textbooks.
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-16T23:59:32.340Z
@WangDingwei: You're not suggesting that native English speakers don't say "How are you?" are you?
Brian Tung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-17T08:44:27.137Z
@BrianTung Sorry, I meant ESL or CSL books.
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-17T16:24:33.383Z
@WangDingwei: Hahaha, OK. :-)
Brian Tung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-28T03:14:00.763Z
2016-07-28T03:14:00.763Z
Victor
<p>I would like to know if you can say "我好", when someone asks you "你好吗?".<br>
I am aware you can answer "我很好" as in "I am very good", but can you say "I am good"? 
Please fix my mistakes if I have any.  </p>

<p>-Thanks, Orangalo </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T15:11:41.250Z
我很好, while means "I'm very good" in direct translation, is actually equivalent to "I'm fine / I'm good" and is the most commonly used.
Alex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T15:16:36.550Z
我很会说中国话，cf。jukuu：good at 擅长，善于，＇实用英汉词典＂good at：他擅长学习语言。
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T15:39:57.347Z
in Chinese = in the Chinese course/class: 汉语（中文）课(程)上我的成绩不错，replace 汉语  by 语文 in case of 大陆学校
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T18:03:48.887Z
我好 is not wrong but sounds unnatural. It's an idiomatic rule that some adjectives like 好 must be prefixed by any adverb in short sentences otherwise it doesn't sound natural. 很 is one of those 'filler' adverb commonly used before such adjectives. There are some good Q/A's existing on this site if you search carefully.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-27T22:12:56.320Z
The simplest answer to  "你好吗?" is "好" . We don't need to use the subject pronoun when the question already stated who is the subject--  if the question is "他好吗" and you answer: "好" then the subject is automatically understood as 他
Tang Ho
<translation><grammar>
"I am good" in Chinese
# "I am good" in Chinese

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-27)

I would like to know if you can say "我好", when someone asks you "你好吗?".  
I am aware you can answer "我很好" as in "I am very good", but can you say "I am good"?
Please fix my mistakes if I have any.

-Thanks, Orangalo

**Tags:** translation, grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 我很好, while means "I'm very good" in direct translation, is actually equivalent to "I'm fine / I'm good" and is the most commonly used.  
> **username_2**: 我很会说中国话，cf。jukuu：good at 擅长，善于，＇实用英汉词典＂good at：他擅长学习语言。  
> **username_2**: in Chinese = in the Chinese course/class: 汉语（中文）课(程)上我的成绩不错，replace 汉语  by 语文 in case of 大陆学校  
> **username_3**: 我好 is not wrong but sounds unnatural. It's an idiomatic rule that some adjectives like 好 must be prefixed by any adverb in short sentences otherwise it doesn't sound natural. 很 is one of those 'filler' adverb commonly used before such adjectives. There are some good Q/A's existing on this site if you search carefully.  
> **username_4**: The simplest answer to  "你好吗?" is "好" . We don't need to use the subject pronoun when the question already stated who is the subject--  if the question is "他好吗" and you answer: "好" then the subject is automatically understood as 他  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_10 on 2016-07-28. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

We never answer “我好” when asked “你好吗?”. Indeed, these days it's not very common for people to greet others with “你好吗？” face to face, but simply “你好” will do just fine. When greeted with “你好”, we can acknowledge it with the same “你好”. 我很好 sometimes means I am ok (so don't worry about me). Imagine two lovers just broke up but still treat each other as friends. In their letters later on, one may write 我很好，不用担心我. This is the scenario that popped into my head when I first saw this quesiton.

> **Comments:**
> **username_11**: This. “你好吗？” is actually a translation of "How are you?" which only exists in English textbooks.  
> **username_12**: @WangDingwei: You're not suggesting that native English speakers don't say "How are you?" are you?  
> **username_11**: @BrianTung Sorry, I meant ESL or CSL books.  
> **username_12**: @WangDingwei: Hahaha, OK. :-)  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-10-12. Score: 1

Sometimes you need to think 很 as a linking verb, in English you never say:

1. I fine.

   but: I am fine.
2. The soup delicious.

   but: The soup tastes delicious.

The same in this case, 很 as a linking verb, you can't omit it.

我 很 好 = I am fine. (not "very well"), there is no "very" involved.

But if you want to express "I am very/quite well", you need to say:

我 非常 好. (that important note is now you don't need 很 anymore, since 非常 already carried the meaning of BE.)


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2016-08-01. Score: 1

You must be very cautious about translating 很 in a hyper-literal way. In Mandarin it often functions ONLY to link a noun and adjective, and consequently does not necessarily add the literal sense of "very". Hence your possible reluctance to use "我很好", even though it is the appropriate response for what you want to express, is unwarranted.

This point is mentioned [here](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences).


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2016-07-27. Score: 0

根据语言环境可以有一下几种回答方式：

1. not bad - 还行
2. I'm good - 挺好/ （我）挺好

... depends on what you want to reply. may be you can give some description about how good you are... :) so you can start talking with people that you like to...


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2016-08-11. Score: 0

I think it is not correct to translate "我很好" into "I am very good". It means "I am doing fine", "I am doing well". When one say "你好吗？"，“好” is an adverb, means "How are you doing"，"Are you doing OK"？

In a less satisfiction case, say “我还好”，"还行吧"，“就那样吧”，“还是那样”。

Why do not say "我好"？Because it is sound like the adjective "good". People do not use it to themselves.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2016-08-11. Score: -1

a: Are you ok？

b: 我很好(I'm good).

In this case, 很 does not mean 'very'. It means 'quite'


---

