What is the difference between Verb + 好, 完, and 過?
In Chinese,「好」、「完」and「過」can all appear after a verb, but they do not mean the same thing.
For beginners, remember this first:
- Verb + 好: the action is done well, finished properly, or ready.
- Verb + 完: the action is finished.
- Verb + 過: someone has done it before; it is a past experience.
| Pattern | Main idea | Simple meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Verb + 好 | finished and ready / done properly | do something well / get something ready |
| Verb + 完 | finish the action | finish doing something |
| Verb + 過 | past experience | have done something before |
1. Verb + 好 hǎo: finished and ready
「Verb + 好」means the action is completed properly, and the result is good, ready, or usable.
It is not only “finish.” It often has the feeling of “done well,” “set up,” “prepared,” or “ready.”
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verb + 好 + Object + 了 | finished and ready / done properly |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我做好功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò hǎo gōngkè le | I have finished my homework and it is done properly. |
| 我準備好晚餐了。 ♬ | wǒ zhǔnbèi hǎo wǎncān le | I have prepared dinner. |
| 你寫好名字了嗎？ ♬ | nǐ xiě hǎo míngzi le ma | Have you written your name properly? |
「好」focuses on the result. The thing is not only finished; it is ready or properly done.
2. Verb + 完 wán: finish doing
「Verb + 完」means the action is finished. It focuses on completing the action from beginning to end.
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verb + 完 + Object + 了 | finished doing something |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我做完功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò wán gōngkè le | I finished my homework. |
| 我吃完晚餐了。 ♬ | wǒ chī wán wǎncān le | I finished eating dinner. |
| 你看完這本書了嗎？ ♬ | nǐ kàn wán zhè běn shū le ma | Have you finished reading this book? |
「完」does not strongly say whether the result is good or ready. It mainly says the action is finished.
3. Verb + 過 guò: have done before
「Verb + 過」means someone has done something before. It talks about experience.
It does not necessarily mean the action was done well, completely, or recently.
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Subject + Verb + 過 + Object | Subject has done something before. |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我做過功課。 ♬ | wǒ zuò guò gōngkè | I have done homework before. |
| 我去過台灣。 ♬ | wǒ qù guò Táiwān | I have been to Taiwan before. |
| 你吃過臭豆腐嗎？ ♬ | nǐ chī guò chòu dòufu ma | Have you eaten stinky tofu before? |
「過」focuses on experience. It does not focus on whether the task is now finished or ready.
4. Compare with the same verb: 做功課
Let’s compare「做好」、「做完」and「做過」with the same object:「功課」.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Main meaning | Natural English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我做好功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò hǎo gōngkè le | finished properly; ready | I finished my homework properly. |
| 我做完功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò wán gōngkè le | finished the action | I finished doing my homework. |
| 我做過功課。 ♬ | wǒ zuò guò gōngkè | past experience | I have done homework before. |
If you want to say “I just finished my homework,” use「我做完功課了」or「我做好功課了」depending on the meaning. Do not use「做過」as the main way to say “finished.”
5. 好 vs 完: result vs completion
「好」and「完」can both describe completion, but their focus is different.
| Word | Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 好 ♬ | result is ready, okay, or properly done | 飯做好了。 ♬ |
| 完 ♬ | the action is completed | 飯吃完了。 ♬ |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 飯做好了。 ♬ | fàn zuò hǎo le | The food is ready. |
| 飯吃完了。 ♬ | fàn chī wán le | The food has been eaten up. / We finished eating. |
「飯做好了」means the food has been prepared and is ready.「飯吃完了」means the eating is finished or the food is gone.
6. 完 vs 過: finished action vs experience
「完」answers the question “Is the action finished?”
「過」answers the question “Has this experience happened before?”
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我看完這部電影了。 ♬ | wǒ kàn wán zhè bù diànyǐng le | I finished watching this movie. |
| 我看過這部電影。 ♬ | wǒ kàn guò zhè bù diànyǐng | I have seen this movie before. |
If you say「我看過這部電影」, it means you have seen it before. It does not emphasize that you finished the whole movie.
7. Can 好, 完, and 過 appear with 了?
Yes, but the meaning depends on the sentence.
「了」often marks a completed action or a new situation. It often appears after the object or at the end of the sentence.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我做好功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò hǎo gōngkè le | The homework is done properly now. |
| 我做完功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò wán gōngkè le | I finished doing my homework. |
| 我做過功課了。 ♬ | wǒ zuò guò gōngkè le | I have done homework before / I already did homework before, depending on context. |
Be careful:「Verb + 過 + 了」can sound context-dependent. For beginners, use「Verb + 過」to talk about experience, and use「Verb + 完 + 了」to say an action is finished.
8. Negative forms
The negative form is different depending on the pattern.
| Positive | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|
| 做好了 ♬ | 還沒做好 ♬ | done properly / not done properly yet |
| 做完了 ♬ | 還沒做完 ♬ | finished / not finished yet |
| 做過 ♬ | 沒做過 ♬ | have done before / have never done before |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我還沒做好功課。 ♬ | wǒ hái méi zuò hǎo gōngkè | I have not finished my homework properly yet. |
| 我還沒做完功課。 ♬ | wǒ hái méi zuò wán gōngkè | I have not finished my homework yet. |
| 我沒做過這種功課。 ♬ | wǒ méi zuò guò zhè zhǒng gōngkè | I have never done this kind of homework before. |
Use「還沒」when something is not finished yet. Use「沒……過」when someone has never had the experience.
9. Common mistake: 過 does not mean finished
Many learners confuse「過」with “finished.” But「過」usually means experience.
| Do not use this for “finished” | Use this | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我做過功課。 | 我做完功課了。 ♬ | I finished my homework. |
| 我看過這本書。 | 我看完這本書了。 ♬ | I finished reading this book. |
「我看過這本書」means “I have read / seen this book before.” It does not clearly say you finished the whole book.
10. Common mistake: 好 is not always good
When「好」comes after a verb, it often means the result is complete, ready, or properly done. It does not always mean “good” as an adjective.
| Chinese | Literal idea | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| 準備好了。 ♬ | prepared well / prepared ready | It is ready. |
| 寫好了。 ♬ | written properly | It is written / done. |
| 弄好了。 ♬ | handled properly | It is fixed / ready / done. |
11. Which one should I use?
| Your meaning | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The result is ready or properly done. | Verb + 好 | 我準備好了。 ♬ |
| The action is finished. | Verb + 完 | 我吃完了。 ♬ |
| Someone has done it before. | Verb + 過 | 我吃過臭豆腐。 ♬ |
12. More examples
| 好: ready / properly done | 完: finished action | 過: past experience |
|---|---|---|
| 我買好票了。 ♬ I bought the tickets and they are ready. |
我買完東西了。 ♬ I finished shopping. |
我買過這個。 ♬ I have bought this before. |
| 我寫好名字了。 ♬ I wrote my name properly. |
我寫完文章了。 ♬ I finished writing the article. |
我寫過中文文章。 ♬ I have written Chinese articles before. |
Quick review
| Pattern | Main meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb + 好 | finished properly; ready | 我做好功課了。 ♬ |
| Verb + 完 | finished doing | 我做完功課了。 ♬ |
| Verb + 過 | have done before | 我做過功課。 ♬ |
| 還沒 + Verb + 好 | not properly done yet | 我還沒做好。 ♬ |
| 還沒 + Verb + 完 | not finished yet | 我還沒做完。 ♬ |
| 沒 + Verb + 過 | have never done before | 我沒吃過臭豆腐。 ♬ |
Useful vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 做好 ♬ | zuò hǎo | to do properly; to finish and make ready |
| 做完 ♬ | zuò wán | to finish doing |
| 做過 ♬ | zuò guò | to have done before |
| 好 ♬ | hǎo | good; ready; properly done after a verb |
| 完 ♬ | wán | to finish; complete |
| 過 ♬ | guò | experience marker; have done before |
| 功課 ♬ | gōngkè | homework; schoolwork |
| 準備 ♬ | zhǔnbèi | to prepare |
| 準備好 ♬ | zhǔnbèi hǎo | to be ready; to prepare well |
| 吃完 ♬ | chī wán | to finish eating |
| 看完 ♬ | kàn wán | to finish reading / watching |
| 看過 ♬ | kàn guò | to have seen / read before |
| 寫好 ♬ | xiě hǎo | to write properly; to finish writing and make it ready |
| 寫完 ♬ | xiě wán | to finish writing |
| 買好 ♬ | mǎi hǎo | to buy and have ready |
| 買完 ♬ | mǎi wán | to finish buying / shopping |
| 買過 ♬ | mǎi guò | to have bought before |
| 還沒 ♬ | hái méi | not yet |
| 臭豆腐 ♬ | chòu dòufu | stinky tofu |
| 文章 ♬ | wénzhāng | article; essay |
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