好奇 (hào qí) is an adjective meaning 'curious' — describing a strong desire to know or learn something, often driven by interest or wonder. Though 好 can mean 'good' in many contexts, here it's pronounced hào and functions as a verb meaning 'to like' or 'to be fond of'; 奇 means 'strange' or 'unusual'. Together, they literally convey 'fondness for the unusual', which evolved into the modern sense of intellectual or emotional curiosity about people, things, or ideas.

This word commonly appears in both spoken and written Chinese, especially when describing children’s inquisitive nature, scientific inquiry, or everyday situations where someone asks questions or investigates something unfamiliar. It can function predicatively (e.g., 他很好奇) or attributively before nouns (e.g., 好奇心). Unlike English 'curious', 好奇 rarely carries negative connotations like 'meddlesome' unless context specifies it — that nuance is usually clarified with additional words like 好奇过度 or 爱打听.