Chinese Vocabulary: 5 Ways to Say Awesome in Chinese

Everyone who is interested in the Chinese language and culture must’ve heard of the word 你好 (níhǎo) hello, in which 好 (hǎo) means “good”. “Good” is the most basic word people use when they would like to pay a compliment. Nowadays young people in China use all sorts of trendy slang words in various situations, and let’s take a look at five popular words that can be used instead of 好 (hǎo) in spoken language.

1. 棒 (Bàng)

This word is commonly used by Chinese people when they want to exclaim that someone or something is brilliant. Apart from being an adjective, this word can also be used as a noun, which means “stick”.

Example:

你的中文真棒!
Nǐ de Zhōngwén zhēn bàng!
Your Chinese is really good!

2. 牛 (Niú)

This is a popular slang word that young people use to indicate that they’re surprised by something extraordinary or someone who stands out from all the others. What is interesting about this word is that its original meaning is “bull/cattle”, which, to a certain extent, could be associated with “domineering”.

Example:

他会说五种语言，太牛了！
Tā huì shuō wǔ zhǒng yǔyán, tài niú le.
He can speak five languages. It’s amazing!

3. 赞 (Zàn)

This is another popular slang word with a similar meaning to “awesome”. In the past, it was usually used as a verb meaning “to praise”. However, nowadays young people often treat it as an adjective that can be used to pay compliments.

Example:

表演很赞。
Biǎoyǎn hěn zàn.
The performance was great.

4. 行 (Xíng)

If you’ve learned Chinese before, you might know the meaning of this word, which is “OK”. It’s usually used when you agree to do something. This word has another meaning similar to “qualified to do something”. Consequently, it can be used to praise a person who is capable of doing something.

Example:

A: 李强考入了清华大学。
Lǐ Qiáng kǎorù le Qīnghuá dàxué.
Li Qiang entered Tsinghua University.

B: 真的吗? 他真行！
Zhēn de ma? Tā zhēn xíng.
Really? He’s marvelous.

5. 拉风 (Lāfēng)

This is a commonly-used slang word that describes something which is considered edgy or extremely fashionable. The meaning of 拉 (lā) is “to pull”, and the meaning of 风 (fēng) is “wind”. Therefore, the implicit explanation of this word could be “something is so edgy that it can even pull the wind”.

Example:

她的穿衣风格很拉风。
Tā de chuānyī fēnggé hěn lāfēng.
Her dressing style is really fashionable.

To find out more interesting and useful Chinese vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 7 Awesome Summer Water Sports Activities in Chinese