A semantic contrastive analysis of the word "好" in modern Chinese and its equivalents in Vietnamese

Abstract

The word “好” is widely used in written and spoken Chinese. It is a multiple-functional word  which could be used as an adjective, an adverb, a verb, a noun, a conjunction, etc. The word “好” is also used for diverse syntactic functions. In Chinese grammar, it can be used as a subject, a modifier, a predicate, an adverb or a complement in a sentence. It has semantic functions and specific compositions. This paper focuses on semantic and syntactic characteristics of the word "好", and compares it with the word "good" in Vietnamese. The results will help highlight the semantic and syntax similarities and differences between these languages which will help Vietnamese people understand more about these two words.