Short story: 哪瓶红酒好喝？- Which Bottle of Wine Tastes Better?

Ever wondered if expensive wine actually tastes better? In this short story, Li Ming puts it to the test with a simple taste comparison.

This reading teaches us an important lesson about how to express enjoyment in Chinese. In English, when we express enjoyment of food, drink, or music, we might simply say that a dish or a song is “very good,” “great,” or “excellent.” But saying something is generically “good” (好 – hǎo) in Chinese sounds a bit off. These sentences are technically and gramatically correct, but although new Chinese learners often default to using these sentences, you won’t hear native speakers use them often:

This dish is very good – “这个菜很好。”
This kind of tea is very good = “这种茶很好。”
That song is very good – “那首歌很好。”

Instead, in Chinese, native speakers specify how something is good, making it clear that something is good to eat, good to drink, or good to listen to. More precisely:

This dish is delicious – 这个菜很好吃。
This kind of tea is tasty = 这种茶很好喝。
That song is very good (to listen to) – 那首歌很好听。

This pairing of “好” + “verb” can be used to describe all kinds of things. Here are some more advanced examples:

This road is enjoyable / easy to travel. – 这条路很好走。
This pen writes well / is nice to write with – 这支笔很好写。
This phone is easy to use – 这个手机很好用。

When 好 is used in this way, its opposite is not “bad” (坏 – huài), its opposite is “difficult / hard” (难 – nán). For example:

This dish is disgusting – 这个菜难吃。(Literally, “This dish is difficult to eat.”)
This kind of tea doesn’t taste good = 这种茶很难喝。(Literally, “This kind of tea is difficult to drink.”)
That song sounds awful – 那首歌难听。(Literally, “This song is hard to listen to.”)
This road is difficult to walk on. – 这条路难走。
This phone is hard to use – 这个手机难用。

In the reading below, the protagonist is drinking wine, so you will see 好喝 and 难喝 used in this story.

Key vocab