好

Compound ideograph:

女 (woman, mother) – semantic element, indicating nurturing, family.

子 (child, son) – semantic element, indicating offspring.

Originally depicted a mother with her child, symbolizing harmony, affection, and hence “good, favorable.”

※ Sometimes misinterpreted as a man and woman together, but paleographic evidence confirms the “mother and child” origin.

Semantic range:

- good, fine, beautiful, favorable;

- to like, to be fond of, to love;

- in compounds: preference, ease, favorable condition.

Appears in many compounds in modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, where it often strengthens the positive quality or expresses fondness.

好人 (호인) – a good person

好學 (호학) – love of learning

好友 (호우) – good friend

喜好 (희호) – liking, preference

愛好 (애호) – to love, to be fond of; hobby

良好 (양호) – favorable, fine condition

Opposite in sense to 惡 (evil, to hate), and both share the same tonal alternation between adjective and verb.