好不 + 形容词
how very …!; so …! (exclamation)
Structure
好不 双音节形容词（热闹／快活／威风…）
What it means
How very …!; so …! A storyteller’s exclamation. The 不 negates nothing: 好不热闹 means the same as 好热闹, “so lively”.
How it is built
Description + ，好不 + two-syllable adjective, closing the sentence as a comment: 孩子们在雪地里追来追去，好不快活 (the children chased each other through the snow, having a wonderful time).
When to use it
Lively writing and speech. It takes a small set of words for scenes and feelings: 热闹, 快活, 威风, 得意, 伤心. Avoid words whose negative is common, like 自在: 好不自在 can mean “so carefree” or “so ill at ease”.
Watch out
Don’t read it as “not …”, and don’t add 很. 好不容易 is different: there 不 is a real negative (“only with great difficulty”), and 好容易 + verb (好容易才买到) means the same, not “very easy”.
Examples
摊主的吆喝声、电子秤的“嘀嘀”声、讨价还价声混成一片，好不热闹。
Stallholders crying their wares, the beeping of electronic scales and the sound of haggling blend into one din: the place is buzzing.
孩子们在雪地里追来追去，好不快活。
The children chased each other through the snow, having the time of their lives.
将军骑在高头大马上，好不威风。
The general sat astride a tall horse, looking magnificent.
Learn this in Lesson 135 · HSK 7–9: 菜市场里 (At the wet market)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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