When you are learning a new language, chances are the first word or phrase you need to learn is for greeting. After all, you can’t really start chatting with someone before properly greeting him/her! So, if you’re about to learn Chinese, the very first question for you to ask might be “How would you say ‘Hello’ in Chinese?”
你好 (“nǐ hǎo” in Pinyin, pronounced as “knee how” if you know nothing about the Pinyin system) is the most basic default greeting phrase in Chinese. The literal translation for this word is “you ok/good,” but this is the easiest and simplest way to say “hello” in Chinese.
Although both of these two words in Pinyin are marked as third tone (nǐ hǎo), the actual pronunciation changes a bit because two consecutive third tones occur back to back. In this instance, you want to pronounce the first character “nǐ” as a 2nd-tone one because it comes immediately before another 3rd-tone character. The second character (hǎo) keeps its third tone and shall be pronounced with a “dip,” a falling-then-rising tone.
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But please be aware that 你好 nǐ hǎo is not the only way to say hi in Chinese! Just like in English, people got numerous ways to greet someone (Hello, Hi, Hey, What’s up?, How are you?, Nice to meet you, etc.), there are plenty of greeting options in Chinese as well.
Here we’ve compiled a small list of the top 10 ways to greet people in Chinese. Get to know how to use these 10 expressions in different situations, and you’ll be soon greeting people in Chinese like natives. Learn and practice these 10 expressions explained in this list, and you’ll be able to change your lingo and adapt in various context just like a super linguistic chameleon. When a native Chinese speaker starts greeting you with one of these lingos, you’re already prepared!
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10 More Ways of Greeting in Chinese Language
- Hi – 嗨
Hello is a common word which people use while greeting others. However, now a day, young Chinese people has replaced the word hello with 嗨 (hāi). In fact, this word is borrowed by the Chinese from the English dictionary and when it is said loudly, it sounds like the English word “Hi”. This expression is mostly used by young people when they meet with their age fellows to look smarter.
- Good Morning – 早上好 / 上午好
It is usually said to make a good start of the day. When Chinese people meet in the morning, they say the word 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo) which means “Good Morning”, 早上 (zǎoshang) means “morning” and 好(hǎo) mean “good”. More importantly, 早上好 is said when they greet others early in the morning particularly between 6am and 9am and after that, up to 12am, they say上午好 (shàngwǔ hǎo) which has the same meaning i.e. good morning.
A short form of 早上好 (zǎo shang hǎo) “good morning” is (zǎo) “Morning!”. It is said in the morning time in the place of “hi”. Chinese often use this expression in everyday greeting with colleagues and neighbors.
- Good Afternoon – 下午好
It is a greeting for afternoon tea time. When people meet at the afternoon tea, in Chinese they use the expression下午好 “Good Afternoon”.
- Good Evening – 晚上好
This greeting is used in the professional context. In the late evening, when people meet they greet each other by using the expression 晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo) meaning “Good Evening”. Mostly, they use short word 晚上 (wǎnshàng) which means “Evening”.
- Good night – 晚安
Good night is a favorite expression of Chinese people. When they depart from each other at night, they say 晚安 (wǎn’ān) “Good Night”. This expression is also most favorite for the young couple because when all the capitals of these letters are taken, it comes 我爱你，爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ，ài nǐ), meaning “I love you, love you”. It can also be used to show affection by the Chinese to their friends.
- Hello – 喂
It is a professional style of Chinese while picking up the phone call. 喂 (wèi) which means “Hello” is only used by Chinese when answering the phone. When you receive a phone call from a Chinese, the first word you heard will be 喂 (wèi) because they used this expression to show that they have picked up the phone. It is a small and pleasant word in Chinese to greet someone and is used by the people of every age either children, young or old.
- Long time no see! — 好久不见 ！
It is an English saying, which is grammatically incorrect, originated from the Chinese language. It is an expression used when old friends meet after a long time. As it is the fact that old friends may become busy in their family, jobs, or other life’s duties, but when they met, it seems that they have never been separated for that long time. In that situation, Chinese friend express their feelings by saying 好久不见！ (hǎojiǔ bújiàn!) “Long time no see!”.
These words can be used in formal as well as informal way if the people greet after a long time. Generally, in the reply of this, it is said that 是啊 （shì a). and the next answer is 我上次见你还是在……的时候 (wǒ shàng cì jiàn nǐ hái shì zài …de shí hòu) which means “the last time I saw you is when…”.
- How has been life recently – 最近怎么样？
When friends meet after sometime, they greet each other by saying 最近过得怎样呀(zuìjìn guò dé zěnyàng ya?) “How has been life recently?”. The other most frequently used phrase in the English for this expression is “How are you?”. Usually the answers to these questions are “Fine”. Nevertheless, it also depends on the degree of frankness you have with the other person. When he or she is a close friend and you are willing to share your current situation, you may start by saying 不怎么样，因为…… (bú zěn me yàng, yīn wéi…) which means “Not very good, because…”. But when you have formal relations with other person, and you do not want to explain the situation you are suffering from, you can answer by saying 挺好的 (tǐng hǎo de) meaning “pretty good” just to show civility.
- Did you eat your meal? — 吃了吗?
This expression has a historical background. There was a time when china was suffering from a desperate phase and people sometimes did not have enough food to eat 3 times a day. At that time, it was not unusual to greet someone by asking “nǐ chī le ma?” “Have you eaten?”. This was considered as a courteous question. Chinese people still use this greeting now a day and even well-off families greet each other by saying hi and then a hurried “nǐ chī le ma?”. As this is a part of their culture, they feel friendliness and warmness when someone greet them in this way.
- How to Say “Bye” in Chinese
The most usual way of saying bye in Chinese is 再见 “good-bye”. Its dictionary meaning is “meeting again”. It is used in all circumstances, including hanging up the phone call, leaving a party etc. 拜拜 is also used which sound just like English word “bye-bye”.
Another way of seeing off is saying 待会见 meaning “see you later,”. It is used when people know that they will meet again soon, specifically within the same day. Most importantly, they wave their hand to express the warmness and friendliness to other person.