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Which is correct for saying that I am good (feeling) if someone says how are you? (Как ты):

  • Я хорошо

or

  • Я хорошая
shabunc
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ethan lee
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  • what your research brought you so far? – shabunc Jul 05 '17 at 21:36
  • @shabunc on google translate it seems both are correct, however, I dont know if one sounds better or not – ethan lee Jul 05 '17 at 21:41
  • Ethan, I have to close it since it's off-topic, it looks like you are not learning Russian, just want to translate a particular phrase. But well, you can go with "у меня всё хорошо" or "у меня всё нормально". – shabunc Jul 05 '17 at 21:54
  • @shabunc oh im sorry! No i am learning, i am starting by learning conversations and in this conversation, I reply, "у меня всё хорошо." To say that I am feeling fine. After being asked how i am doing. Sorry for the confusion – ethan lee Jul 05 '17 at 22:02
  • Ethan, then, let me reopen this and sorry for the confusion. Somebody hopefully will give you a reference answer. – shabunc Jul 05 '17 at 22:03
  • Ethan, I have witten a blog post (a while ago) that answers your exact question with a bit of background: http://russiangram.com/lessons/mne-horosho/ – Sergey Slepov Jul 06 '17 at 08:28
  • @SergeySlepov the answer supposed to be self-sufficient. Providing just link is not enough. Self-promoting without providing an answer here is also against rules. – shabunc Jul 06 '17 at 09:00
  • <<мне хорошо>> или <<хорошо>> means "I am well" (more or less) while <<Я хорошая>> means "I am good," as in "I have the quality of goodness/I am a good person." – MAA Jul 07 '17 at 20:29

4 Answers4

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The correct form would be

  • Мне хорошо

Russian doesn't use the "be" verb for expressing emotional state, such as English or French. So, the adverb хорошо is correct grammatically. However, this expresses "I have a good feeling right now" and the answer is not the common to expect to this rather casual question. Usually, people would answer "All is good" or similar, i.e:

  • Все хорошо (good)
  • Все отлично (great)
  • Все в порядке (in order)
  • Все нормально (normal)
spaceppl
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  • всё норм! всё зашибись! – shabunc Jul 06 '17 at 10:46
  • Я хорошо is the right answer. – sr9yar Jul 13 '17 at 15:01
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    I'm not sure if "Мне хорошо" could be used here, it can mean something like "I have a pleasure right now". – edo1 Jul 20 '17 at 22:00
  • Скорее "у меня все хорошо" или "я чувствую себя хорошо" if health condition is asked for. "Мне хорошо" is certainly about feeling pleasure – Arioch Jul 21 '17 at 09:03
  • Yeah, "мне хорошо" outside of obviously pleasurable situation would be a bit off, and even may imply one is drunk ("он уже хороший" - "he is already drunk") or such. For a neutral "I'm ok" use rather a neutral "всё в порядке", "всё хорошо", "я в порядке", "я в норме" (the latter two if the question specifically asks about you, otherwise better to have a neutral generic answer). "я - хорошо" can be used too, if the question was specifically about your welfare/mood/etc. – StasM Jul 21 '17 at 21:38
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Я – хорошо́. Or just 'хорошо́':

  • Как ты?
  • Хорошо́!

This works for both men and women, no need to decline for gender

The reason we use an adverb here and not an adjective is because а verb is implied:

Я [живу́/чу́вствую себя́] хорошо́. I [live/feel] well.

And a verb requires an adverb.

You can also say 'Всё хорошо́' (All good) or 'У меня́ всё хорошо́' (All good with me).

Sergey Slepov
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  • Never listen "Я хорошо", it sounds really bad. And we use adverb because "Как" was asked, it doesn't imply adjective as an answer, only adverb or full clause (often with adverb too) – edo1 Jul 20 '17 at 22:25
  • @edo1: "Как ты?" - "Я хорошо́, а ты?" - sounds OK to me. Хорошо́ is an adverb here. It's just that the verb that is modifies (пожива́ю, чу́вствую себя́) is usually dropped. – Sergey Slepov Jul 21 '17 at 09:46
  • "Я хорошо́, а ты?" is ok. "Я — хорошо́" is ok too. But not a clause "Я хорошо́". – edo1 Jul 21 '17 at 11:15
  • edo1, agreed. Added the dash to my answer, thanks. – Sergey Slepov Jul 21 '17 at 11:31
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Я хорошо - ungrammatical

Я хорошая - means "I am a good female person".

Anixx
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  • it is a wrong answer - "я хорошо" is rarely used but still used. Nothing ungrammatica about it. – shabunc Jul 09 '17 at 10:35
  • @shabunc я хорошо is plainly wrong or incomplete sentence. Not even suitable as answer on a question. – Anixx Jul 09 '17 at 12:37
  • What about "Как вы провели отпуск? - Я - хорошо, Андрей - плохо." – Abakan Jul 10 '17 at 12:33
  • @Abakan obviously it has different punctuation. – Anixx Jul 11 '17 at 02:56
  • Not obviously. It might have different pronunciation but does not have to. And there is no any particular pronunciation in written text! – Abakan Jul 11 '17 at 05:44
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    @Abakan without punctuation it is ungrammatical – Anixx Jul 11 '17 at 08:32
  • It has the correct punctuation and this is the right answer to the question. – sr9yar Jul 13 '17 at 15:03
  • "Я хорошо" definitely couldn't be used in russian (I'm native speaker) – edo1 Jul 20 '17 at 21:51
  • But it could used in form "Я? Хорошо!" (sounds like you are not sure if question is about you), or "Я - хорошо, а вот Лёша плохо" (continuation is necessary). – edo1 Jul 20 '17 at 22:18
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The phrase "I am good." in English has many meanings. You are looking for the most modern of them. The Russian translations which you propose convey an earlier meaning.

Within the last two decades here in New English people have started to say "I am good." instead of "I am well", "I am fine." or even instead of "I do not need anything." Though the grammar is dubious, these expressions are understood. These meanings can be conveyed thus:

У меня всё хорошо. (I am fine.)

У меня всё в порядке. (I am OK, not hurt.)

Ничего мне не надо. (I do not need anything.)

Earlier, in the late 20th century "I am good." was understood in line with its literal meaning: "good" described the quality of "I". A person who had just completed a feat of skill might boast "I am good!" Your suggestion "Я хорошая" ("I am a good.", spoken by a female) might be seen as an attempt to achieve this boasting meaning. "Я хорошо." also sounds like a boast, though it is missing a verb. Unless the context clearly supplies one, it must be included. For example, one could say "Я пою хорошо." ("I sing well.")

Still earlier, "I am good." meant "I am kind.", especially in 19th century novels. For example: "I am very good to you." would be "Я очень добр/добра к тебе."

Finally, "good" can refer to adherence to moral standards: "добродетельная женшина" (a good woman), or Eliza Dolittle's "It's a good girl I am!" (Я порядочная девушка!).

Community
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David42
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  • добродетельная. And "Я хорошо" is ungrammatical as mentioned in another answer – edo1 Jul 21 '17 at 10:59
  • @edo1 Sure "Я хорошо" is ungrammatical as an equational sentence. But here I am interpreting "хорошо" as an adverb meaning "well". I will try to clarify this. – David42 Jul 21 '17 at 18:15