HSK 4 · VERSION 2.0#13

Expressing “Enough” with “gòu”

够

gòu

How it works

够 (gòu) means “enough” or “sufficient.” It is used when talking about quantity, degree, time, money, space, or ability.

It can appear in several common ways:

something is enough

something is not enough

something is adjective enough

Subject + 够 (gòu) Subject + 够 (gòu) + Adjective Subject + 不够 (bú gòu) + Adjective / Noun Phrase

这些钱不够。

Zhèxiē qián bù gòu.

This money is not enough.

这间房间够大。

Zhè jiān fángjiān gòu dà.

This room is big enough.

时间不够了，我们下次再讨论吧。

Shíjiān bù gòu le, wǒmen xià cì zài tǎolùn ba.

There is not enough time, so let’s discuss it next time.

够 (gòu) often focuses on whether something reaches the needed standard.

For example:

这本书我看了，已经够了。 Zhè běn shū wǒ kàn le, yǐjīng gòu le. I have read this book, and that is enough.

Here 够了 (gòu le) means “that’s enough now.”