In Chinese, an adjective is a kind of verb — 好 (hǎo) already means "to be good," so there is no 是 (shì) before it. But if you leave an adjective standing completely alone as the predicate, it sounds unfinished or pointedly contrastive to a native ear. The fix is a tiny, unstressed 很 (hěn) slipped in between subject and adjective: 我很好 "I'm fine," 他很高 "he's tall." The trap for English speakers is the dictionary gloss — 很 is listed as "very," but in this default role it means almost nothing. Treat 很 here as a neutral link, not an intensifier, and a huge number of everyday sentences suddenly come out right.
很 is a linker, not "very"
English joins a subject to an adjective with the copula to be: "I am good." Chinese has no copula here, because the adjective already carries the "be": 好 = "to be good." So the slot 很 fills is neither a copula nor an intensifier — it is a prosodic completer that keeps a bare one-syllable predicate from sounding clipped. Native speakers do not hear "very" in it at all.
我很好，谢谢。
wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie
I'm fine, thanks. — not 'I'm very good'; 很 is just the neutral link.
他很高。
tā hěn gāo
He's tall. — plain statement of fact, no emphasis.
她很漂亮。
tā hěn piàoliang
She's pretty. — everyday description, 很 unstressed.
今天很热。
jīntiān hěn rè
It's hot today. — the default way to state the weather.
这个菜很好吃。
zhège cài hěn hǎochī
This dish is delicious. — 很 completes the predicate without adding 'very'.
If you translate every 很 as "very," you end up saying "she's very pretty," "the food's very good," "I'm very fine" — an exhausting stream of exaggeration no native speaker intends. Linguists debate exactly what unstressed 很 is (some call it a degree-neutral marker, some a purely rhythmic filler), but the practical rule is settled: read 很 + adjective as the plain "X is [adjective]."
When 很 stays and when it drops
The default 很 appears in a plain affirmative statement. It disappears the moment something else takes over its job:
| Situation | 很? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain statement | keep 很 | 他很高 (tā hěn gāo) |
| Another degree word fills the slot | drop 很 | 他非常高 (tā fēicháng gāo) |
| Comparison with 比 | drop 很 | 他比我高 (tā bǐ wǒ gāo) |
| Yes/no question with 吗 | usually drop 很 | 你忙吗？(nǐ máng ma?) |
| Negated with 不 | drop 很 | 他不高 (tā bù gāo) |
The logic is consistent: 很 only shows up to keep a bare adjective from sounding incomplete. When a degree adverb, a comparison, a question particle, or a negator is already there, the predicate is complete and 很 is not needed — and often not allowed.
他比我高。
tā bǐ wǒ gāo
He's taller than me. — a comparison, so no 很.
你今天忙吗？
nǐ jīntiān máng ma?
Are you busy today? — a 吗 question completes the adjective, so 很 drops.
这儿的东西不贵。
zhèr de dōngxi bú guì
Things here aren't expensive. — negated with 不, so no 很.
Stressing 很 when you really mean "very"
The word can still mean "very" — you just have to work for it. In speech you stress it heavily (HĚN高 "really tall"). In writing, where stress is invisible, switch to an unambiguous intensifier like 非常 (fēicháng) "extremely" or 真 (zhēn) "really." That is exactly what the degree adverbs page is for.
她非常漂亮。
tā fēicháng piàoliang
She's extremely pretty. — 非常 carries the real 'very', no ambiguity.
今天真冷！
jīntiān zhēn lěng!
It's really cold today! — 真 for an emphatic, exclamatory 'very'.
Common Mistakes
1. Reading the default 很 as "very." 我很好 is "I'm fine / I'm well," not "I'm very good."
❌ 我很好 = 'I am very good.'
Wrong reading — unstressed 很 is neutral; this just means 'I'm fine'.
✅ 我很好。
wǒ hěn hǎo
I'm fine. — the plain, everyday meaning.
2. Dropping 很 in a plain statement. A bare adjective sounds contrastive, as if a "but…" were coming.
❌ 他高。
Sounds incomplete/contrastive — 'HE's tall (unlike…)'.
✅ 他很高。
tā hěn gāo
He's tall. — 很 makes it a neutral statement.
3. Inserting 是 before the adjective. There is no copula with adjectives.
❌ 我是很好。
Incorrect — no 是 before an adjective.
✅ 我很好。
wǒ hěn hǎo
I'm well. — adjective is its own verb.
4. Stacking 很 with another degree word. 很 and a real intensifier compete for one slot.
❌ 他很非常高。
Incorrect — 非常 already fills the slot; drop 很.
✅ 他非常高。
tā fēicháng gāo
He's extremely tall.
Key Takeaways
- A plain adjective predicate needs a filler; the neutral default is 很 (hěn), which here does not mean "very."
- Read 很 + adjective as the plain "X is [adjective]": 我很好 = "I'm fine," 他很高 = "he's tall."
- 很 drops when a degree adverb, a comparison, a 吗 question, or 不 negation already completes the predicate.
- For a real "very," stress 很 in speech or use 非常 / 真 in writing.
- Never add 是 before an adjective — the adjective is already the verb.
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- Adjectives Are Stative Verbs (No 是)HSK 1 — A Chinese adjective is a kind of verb — it predicates on its own, with NO copula 是 (shì). 她很高 'she is tall', 天气很好 'the weather is good', 这个太贵了 'this is too expensive' — never *她是高. 高 already means 'to be tall', so 是 has no job; negate with 不 (不高), not 没.
- Why a Bare Adjective Sounds ContrastiveHSK 2 — An unmodified predicate adjective (他高, 今天冷) is a marked, contrastive form implying an unspoken comparison or 'but' — the neutral statement needs 很, 太…了, or a real comparison.
- Degree Adverbs (非常 / 特别 / 挺 / 比较 / 真)HSK 2 — The everyday degree adverbs that scale an adjective — 非常 'extremely', 特别 'especially', 真 'really', 挺…的 'quite', 比较 'fairly', 十分 'very' (formal), and postposed 极了 — each with its own strength and register.
- Degree Adverbs (很 / 太 / 非常 / 更 / 最)HSK 1 — Degree adverbs are the adverb class that scales gradable words — 很, 非常, 特别, 太…了, 更, 最, 比较 all sit before the adjective or psych-verb and run from a bare linker up to the superlative.