好好先生

Pronunciation: hǎo hǎo xiān sheng Literal meaning: Good good mister

Origin & Usage

Sima Hui of the late Han would not speak ill of anybody, and answered whatever he was told, good or terrible, with the word 'good' (好). A visitor came to tell him his own son had died; Sima Hui said 'very good.' His wife rounded on him — people confide in you because they think you have virtue, and you say 'good' when you hear a man's son is dead? To which he answered that her words too were very good. A 'Mr Good-Good' (好好先生) offends nobody and is of use to nobody. Somebody who agrees with everybody and will not take a position.

Examples

English: "The manager avoided necessary criticism and never challenged poor performance"

Chinese: 这位经理避免必要的批评，从不挑战糟糕的表现