Usage note
“很”表示程度高，常放在形容词前面，比如“很大”“很开心”。
“hěn” biǎoshì chéngdù gāo, cháng fàng zài xíngróngcí qiánmiàn, bǐrú “hěn dà” “hěn kāixīn”.
“很” means “very” and is used before adjectives to show a high degree of something.
Context note
“很”这个字常常用在日常说话里，放在形容词前面，让描述的程度变得更强。
“hěn” zhège zì chángcháng yòng zài rìcháng shuōhuà lǐ, fàng zài xíngróngcí qiánmiàn, ràng miáoshù de chéngdù biàn dé gèng qiáng.
The word “很” is commonly used in daily speech. It goes before an adjective to make the description stronger.
5 examples
他很高興
tā hěn gāoxìng
He is very happy.
這本書很好看
zhè běn shū hěn hǎokàn
This book is very interesting.
我很累
wǒ hěn lèi
I am very tired.
這個地方很大
zhège dìfāng hěn dà
This place is very big.
我很想吃冰淇凌
wǒ hěn xiǎng chī jīnglíng
I really want to eat ice cream.
5 mini stories
今天天气很热。小明买了一个冰淇淋，吃得很开心。
Jīntiān tiānqì hěn rè. Xiǎo Míng mǎi le yī gè bīngqílín, chī de hěn kāixīn.
The weather is very hot today. Xiao Ming bought an ice cream and ate it very happily.
妹妹画了一幅画，画得很漂亮。妈妈看了很高兴。
Mèimei huà le yī fú huà, huà de hěn piàoliang. Māma kàn le hěn gāoxìng.
Little sister drew a picture, and she drew it very beautifully. Mom was very happy when she saw it.
小狗跑得很快，一下子就追上了球。它玩得很累。
Xiǎo gǒu pǎo de hěn kuài, yīxiàzi jiù zhuī shàng le qiú. Tā wán de hěn lèi.
The puppy ran very fast and caught the ball in no time. It played until it was very tired.
图书馆里很安静。小丽找到一本很有趣的书，读得很认真。
Túshūguǎn lǐ hěn ānjìng. Xiǎo Lì zhǎodào yī běn hěn yǒuqù de shū, dú de hěn rènzhēn.
The library was very quiet. Xiao Li found a very interesting book and read it very carefully.
早上路上车很多，爸爸开车开得很慢。我们很晚才到学校。
Zǎoshang lùshang chē hěn duō, bàba kāi chē kāi de hěn màn. Wǒmen hěn wǎn cái dào xuéxiào.
There were very many cars on the road in the morning, so Dad drove very slowly. We arrived at school very late.
Mini dialogue
新书包
A
你的书包很漂亮！
Nǐ de shūbāo hěn piàoliang!
Your backpack is very pretty!
B
谢谢，我也很喜欢。
Xièxie, wǒ yě hěn xǐhuān.
Thanks, I like it very much too.
天气
A
今天很冷吗？
Jīntiān hěn lěng ma?
Is it very cold today?
B
不，今天很暖和。
Bù, jīntiān hěn nuǎnhuo.
No, today is very warm.
Related words and contrasts
similar
非常
fēicháng
very; extremely
A stronger word for 'very', often used in more emphatic statements.
contrast
太
tài
too; excessively
Means 'too' or 'so', often implying 'too much', e.g., 太大了 (too big).