How do you say hello in Chinese? You may answer 你好 which is the most common way to greet someone in Chinese. But did you know there were many other ways to say hello in Chinese? With this list of all the expressions to say hello in Chinese, from when you want to be polite to when you’re on the phone, you’ll have a 你好 nǐ hǎo Hello for every situation.
Did you know that 你好 nǐ hǎo was not the only way to say hi in Chinese? Get to know how to use these 13 expressions in Mandarin hello, in different situations and you’ll be soon saying hello in Chinese like a native. You can also head to Ninchanese to practice your hello and speak like a native.
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Most used word to say hello in Chinese
#1 你好- Hello: the perfect start
It would be inconceivable to not mention 你好 nǐ hǎo which is the most common and most used expression to say hello in Mandarin. If you want to learn Chinese, you definitely need to learn this useful word and if you are, this was most likely one of the first things you learned. As 你 nǐ is the informal form of “you”, Chinese people use 你好 when they want to greet friends or acquaintances. But watch out, this expression is used to greet one person at a time!
For example if you run across a classmate of yours you can say:
同学你好
tóngxué nǐ hǎo
Hello.
In Chinese, it doesn’t matter if you put the name/subject before or after the greeting rexpression.
You can also shorten the greeting session by just putting the name/subject before 好 hǎo good.
For example:
老师好
lǎoshī hǎo
Hello teacher!.
#2 您好 – Hello: to be the most polite Chinese learner
As we’ve just talked about the informal version of “you”, let me introduce to you the polite form of 你 nǐ you: 您 nín you. Imagine you want to say hello in Chinese to someone that is higher-ranked than you, let’s say your boss for instance, but also to elders, you’ll need to say 您好 nín hǎo hello to show your respect.
For example, when you meet someone’s grandfather, you have to say:
经理您好
jīnglǐ nín hǎo
hello
, plus, they’ll be very pleased to hear you greeting them that way.
Note: The Taiwanese tend to use more 你好 nǐ hǎo than 您好 nín hǎo to greet people, even those they don’t know well.
#3 大家好 – Hello everyone: to greet a crowd
You saw in the first way to say hello in Mandarin, that 你好 nǐ hǎo can only be used to greet one person at a time. But what if you’re with many people and you want to say hi in Chinese to everyone of them at the same time? It’s the right time to use the Chinese expression 大家好 dàjiā hǎo Hello everyone. ( 大家 dàjiā means everyone)
Let’s set the background, if you go to the bakery and there are many sellers and people inside, you can definitely say:
大家好
dàjiā hǎo
Hello everyone
When greeting many people at a time, you can also say
你们好
nǐmen hǎo
hello everyone
你们 nǐmen is the plural form of you so that works too.
How to greet people in Chinese at different times of a day
You know now how to greet people depending on how many they are with the most used and common expressions. Let’s see now how to say hello in Chinese based on what time of day it is. These following expressions are used as often as their equivalents in English. So don’t be surprised if someone greets you that way, it’ll happen.
#1 早上好 / 上午好 – To start the day the right way
How do to say hello in Chinese in the morning? Easy! You can use the word 早上 zǎoshang early morning and add the Chinese character 好 hǎo good. What you get in the end is the word 早上好 zǎoshang hǎo Good morning.
But be careful, 早上好 is only used if you meet someone early in the morning, specifically from 6am to 9am. After that, from 9am to 12am, you must say 上午好 shàngwǔ hǎo Good morning which also means good morning. 上午 shàngwǔ means morning.
#2 下午好 – Good afternoon: the greeting for the tea lovers
Let’s pretend it’s the afternoon and you’re going over a friend’s house for tea time. When arriving, you can say
朋友下午好
péngyǒu xiàwǔ hǎo
Good afternoon my friend
下午 xiàwǔ means afternoon and it’s added to the character 好 hǎo good, to create good afternoon. The Chinese language is really easy, don’t you think?
#3 晚上好 – Good evening: the greeting for the night owls
When it’s late, and you’re supposed to meet people in the evening you can greet them by saying 晚上好 wǎnshàng hǎo Good evening. As you have probably easily guessed, 晚上 wǎnshàng means evening.
Short and cool expressions to say hello in Chinese
Nowadays, Chinese people have added more expressions to say hi in Mandarin. Young people, especially, have created their own expressions inspired by the Western greeting expressions. See how and when you can get rid of 你好.
#1 喂 – Hello: to pick up the phone like a pro
The expression 喂 wèi Hello is only used in one situation: when answering your phone. If you’ve heard a Chinese person on the phone, then you have to have heard that 喂 before! For instance, if someone calls you on your phone, when you answer,you can say 喂 wèi Hello to greet them and indicate you’ve picked up This is a very cute and yet simple word to say hello in Chinese. 喂 is used by everyone, age doesn’t matter here.
#2 哈罗 – Hello: the one that sounds familiar
If you go to China, you’ll most likely hear young people say 哈罗 hā luō Hello. If you pay attention to the pronunciation of 哈罗 you’ll notice it sounds like hello. In fact, 哈罗 hā luō is a loanword the Chinese borrowed from English. Really easy to remember, don’t you think? You can use this expression when speaking with young people.
#3 嗨 – Hi: to sound cool in Chinese
Young people are very creative, here’s another expression to say hello in Chinese you can use when talking to young people, or people of your age to show how cool you are. 嗨 hāi Hi is also a loanword the Chinese borrowed from English, if you say it out loud you’ll hear it sounds just like the English word Hi.
Current expressions to greet people in Chinese
When sometimes, you think a 你好 is not enough to greet someone, you can use these following expressions that will help you to be friendly with people and greet others in Chinese.
#1 好久不见 ！- Long time no see!: the greeting sentence for old friends
Old friends can be separated by life’s duties, their jobs, their family, or hobbies, but once they gather together, it’s like they’ve never been away from each other that long. If that happens to you with a Chinese friendn, you can tell them 好久不见 ！ hǎojiǔ bújiàn! Long time no see!. It’s a nice greeting for a very good friend. And yes, some suspect the English expression Long Time No see was borrowed from Chinese.
#2 最近过得怎样呀？- How has been life recently?
The expression 最近过得怎样呀？ zuìjìn guò dé zěnyàng ya? How has been life recently? can also be translated by “How are you?” in English, as the same kind of answers are expected. For example when you meet one of your friends you haven’t seen in a little while, they can ask you 最近过得怎样呀？ zuìjìn guò dé zěnyàng ya? How has been life recently? you can answer several things:
挺好的。
tǐng hǎo de.
Quite good.
还不错。
hái búcuò.
Not bad.
一般般。
yì bān bān.
Just so so.
不太好。
bù tài hǎo.
Not good..
#3 吃了吗？- Have you eaten ?: how food got involved in the greetings
Asking someone if they have eaten can seem like a weird question but it’s actually, a well known and popular expression to say hello in Chinese. Wait. To say hello? Absolutely. In China, eating is extremely important and therefore inquiring whether someone has eaten or not 吃了吗？ chīle ma? Have you eaten ? gradually became a perfectly normal way of asking “How are you?” in Chinese. Whenever someone asks you
吃了吗？ chīle ma? Have you eaten ?, just say 吃了 chīle I’m fine (literally I’ve eaten) and ask them back 你呢？ nǐ ne? And you? They’ll be glad to be asked so.
Final words:
你好 may be the most used expression to say hello in Chinese but they are plenty of other ways to greet someone like a native Chinese. Learn the 13 expressions offered in this list and you’ll be able to change your lingo and adapt in different situations just like a real language chameleon. You can learn all these expressions and practice them on Ninchanese so you’ll never forget about them.
Did you know all these Chinese sayings for hello? Were you surprised by the loanwords? Let us know in the comments.
Pauline and
The Nincha Team
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When you learn Chinese, one of the first things you need to learn are greetings in Chinese so you can start connecting with Chinese speakers.
There are quite a few different ways of greeting and taking your leave in Chinese. So to help you get started, in this post, I introduce some of the most common greetings in Chinese you’re likely to meet.
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How To Say Hello In Chinese
When you start studying Chinese, probably the first thing you’ll learn how to say is the word for “hello” – and if you ask someone if they know any Chinese words, if they know only one thing, it will be this. “Hello” in Chinese is, of course:
- #1 你好 Nĭ hăo (Hello)
The first character 你 nĭ means “you” and the second character 好 hăo means “good”, so literally it means “you good”.
You can use this greeting when you’ re speaking to a single person. But it’s rare in everyday speech and is only used in formal settings and when meeting someone you don’t know. You’ll see some alternatives below that you can use with friends.
Otherwise, you will often hear it being used where in English we would say “excuse me”, like this:
- 欸！你好！服务员！Ēi! Nĭ hăo! Fúwùyuán! (Hey! Excuse me! Waiter!)
This might not seem so polite in English, and it isn’t exactly super-polite in Chinese either. But it’s also not rude, and this is the kind of thing you’ll hear in restaurants in China all the time.
Now a note about pronunciation. Although both characters have a third tone, when one third tone is followed by another, the first is pronounced as a second (rising) tone, so in reality, it sounds more like ní hăo.
However, in pinyin, you still write it with a third tone because that’s the character’s true tone when pronounced in isolation. (The best thing is to learn to read and write in Chinese characters as quickly as possible and then you won’t need to worry about issues like this!)
Other Basic Greetings In Chinese
Other than the famous 你好 nĭ hăo, there are some other ways of saying “hello” in Chinese. If you are speaking to someone you want to show respect to, there is a more formal version:
- #2 您好 Nín hăo (Hello)
您 nín is a more polite form of 你 nĭ, and if you look carefully at the character, you will see that it is written slightly differently.
The 您 nín form is roughly equivalent to vous in French whereas 你 nĭ is like the tu form, but in Chinese, 您 nín is less commonly used. You might perhaps use it with your boss, although this is by no means sure. On the other hand, you would probably use it with the CEO of your company, and you would use it when meeting a visiting VIP.
If you stay in a hotel, the staff there might use it, but they might equally just stick to 你 nĭ.
If you are addressing more than one person, there is another way to say “hello”, like this:
- #3 你们好 Nĭmen hăo (Hello)
The difference here is that 你们 nĭmen is the plural form of “you”, but otherwise, it works just the same. You can use this when addressing two people or small groups.
When addressing larger groups, there’s yet another way to say it, like this:
- #4 大家好 Dàjiā hăo (Hello everyone)
大家 dàjiā is the Chinese word for “everyone”, and examples of when you might use this include a teacher greeting their class, someone about to give a speech greeting their audience or somebody entering a room for a meeting.
One other useful expression to know is the Chinese for “nice to meet you”, which is:
- #5 很高兴认识你 Hĕn gāoxìng rènshi nĭ (Nice to meet you)
Word for word, this literally means “very happy know you”, and you can use this whenever you meet somebody for the first time.
Time-Related Greetings In Chinese
Just like in English, Chinese also has ways of greeting people depending on the time of day, for example:
- #6 早上好 Zăoshàng hăo (Good morning)
In this expression, 早上 zăoshàng is the word for morning, and this is followed by 好 hăo, which we’ve already seen – so literally, this means “morning good”.
Here are some other examples:
- #7 下午好 Xiàwŭ hăo (Good afternoon)
- #8 晚上好 Wănshàng hăo (Good evening)
As you can probably guess by now, 下午 xiàwŭ and 晚上 wănshàng are the Chinese words for “afternoon” and “evening” respectively.
A common shortened version you might hear is 早 zăo, which is the direct equivalent of saying “morning” in English – but be aware that you can’t do the same for the others!
Informal Chinese Greetings
The greetings we’ve seen so far are expressions you can use with anyone, but among friends, they might sound a little stuffy or formal.
Here are some more natural ways to greet people you know well:
- #9 嗨 Hāi, hēi (Hi! Hey!)
- #10 诶 Èi! (Hey!)
These words are just the same as in English, and you can use them in the same way. Often, you follow the word (‘interjection’ is probably more accurate because they’re not really official ‘words’) with the person’s name or nickname, like this:
- 诶！ 小懒猫！Èi! Xiăolănmāo! (Hey! Lazybones!)
- 嗨！老王！Hāi! Lăo Wáng! (Hi! Old Wang!)
In the first example, 小懒猫 xiăolănmāo, “lazybones”, is the person’s nickname – literally, it means “little lazy cat”.
The second example demonstrates a common way Chinese people address others they are on familiar terms with.
If the person is older, they use the word 老 lăo, “old”, and the person’s family name. Here, the person is called Wang, so he (or she) is referred to as “Old Wang”.
If the person is younger, you just replace 老 lăo with 小 xiăo, meaning “small” or “little”.
As a non-native speaker, it’s best not to start using 小 xiăo and 老 lăo first yourself – but if other people use these terms to refer to someone, it’s ok to follow their lead.
Note also that this form of address is rarely used with non-Chinese.
A Particularly Chinese Way Of Greeting Someone
If you spend any time in China, there’s another expression that you will often hear, and if you’re not aware of the real meaning, it might seem strange at first:
- #11 你吃饭了吗？Nĭ chī fàn le ma? (Have you eaten?)
The thing to remember about this expression is that the person is not literally asking if you’ve had anything to eat – instead, it’s more like another way of saying hello.
In a way, it’s not so different from ‘how are you?’ in English. If someone asks you this, they aren’t expecting an in-depth low-down on the current state of your health, it’s just a pleasant thing to say. Similarly, in Chinese, they’re not expecting details about the meal you’ve just eaten or how hungry you are, it’s just a common thing to say to show you care.
So how should you reply?
If you have eaten, you can say:
- 吃了 Chī le (I’ve eaten)
And if you haven’t:
- 还没有 Hái méi yŏu (Not yet)
That’s all you need to say – and then you just carry on with your conversation as normal. This type of thing is common in many East Asian countries, and Vietnamese and Thai also have similar expressions.
However, it can be a little disconcerting at first, especially when people speak to you in English asking “have you had lunch yet?” – when all they really mean is “hello”!
How To Say How Are You? In Chinese
So how do you say “how are you?” if you do actually want to enquire about somebody’s health? In Chinese, it’s very simple – you can say it like this:
- #12 你好吗？Nĭ hăo ma? (How are you?)
As you can see, this is just the same as the word for “hello” with the particle 吗 ma tacked on the end to turn it into a question. Literally, it just means “you good [question particle]”.
Another possibility is this:
- #13 你最近怎么样？Nĭ zuìjìn zĕnmeyàng? (How have you been recently?)
In this expression, we have 你 nĭ, which we know already, followed by 最近 zuìjìn (recently), and then 怎么样 zĕnmeyàng (how). Word for word, it means “you recently how?”
One last expression that’s interesting to note is the Chinese expression:
- #14 好久不见 Hăo jiŭ bú jiàn (Long time no see)
It literally means “good long no see”, but it can be also be translated as “long time no see”. The reason it’s interesting is that the source of the ungrammatical expression we use in English is, in fact, none other than this very Chinese phrase!
How To Say Goodbye In Chinese
When it’s time to take your leave, Chinese also has a set of simple expressions you can use.
The most common way to say “goodbye” is:
- #15 再见 Zàijiàn (Goodbye)
The first character 再 zài means “again” and the second one means “see”, so literally, this means something like “again see”, or more naturally, “see you again”. This is the general word for saying goodbye if you don’t know when you will see the other person next.
If you do know when you are going to see each other again, there are some other expressions you can use. For example:
- #16 明天见 Míngtiān jiàn (See you tomorrow)
- #17 后天见 Hòutiān jiàn (See you the day after tomorrow)
As you can easily guess, 明天 míngtiān and hòutiān are the Chinese words for “tomorrow” and “the day after tomorrow”.
You could also say something like:
- #18 下个星期见 Xià ge xīngqī jiàn (See you next week)
Here, of course, 下个星期 xià ge xīngqī means “next week”.
Two More Ways Of Saying “Goodbye” In Chinese
Just like when saying “hello”, there are also some other less formal ways of saying “goodbye”, and the most common is this:
- #19 拜拜 Bāibāi (Bye-bye)
It’s no coincidence that the Chinese version sounds like the English one – because it’s borrowed directly from English.
If you’re chatting online, you are also bound to come across ‘88’. This is because the pronunciation of the Chinese number ‘8’, 八 bā,sounds quite similar to bāi – so ‘88’ is just the internet version of 拜拜.
Saying Goodnight In Chinese
At the end of the day just before you go to bed, you’ll also need to know how to say “goodnight”, which, in Chinese, is:
- #20 晚安 Wăn ān (Good night)
We’ve already seen 晚 wăn, which means “evening” or “night”, and the second character, 安 ān, means “peace” or “peaceful” – so this expression literally means “peaceful night”.
And there’s one more expression you’ll need before you close your eyes and go to sleep:
- #21 好梦 Hăo mèng (Sweet dreams)
As you can see, in Chinese, you don’t wish people “sweet dreams” but rather “good dreams” just before you switch off the light.
Lots Of Fun Greetings In Chinese To Practise
There’s nothing difficult about greetings in Chinese, and all you have to do is remember which ones to use at the right times and with the right people.
As always, the best way to fix them in your memory is to practise them as much as possible, so always look for every chance to use them with native speakers.
And then, when you do, you can look forward to hearing many times over 很高兴认识你 hĕn gāoxìng rènshi nĭ – very happy to meet you!
One of the first things students learn when studying Chinese is how to greet people. Invariably, they’re taught that to say «hi» in Chinese, they should say 你好 (🔈 nĭhǎo).
“Nĭhǎo” is only one of many different greetings used by Chinese speakers, however. In most cases, it’s not even the most common! Read on to discover some of the many different ways to say to “hi” in Chinese.
Table of Contents
- 12 Common Ways to Say “Hi” in Chinese
- 1. 你好 | Nĭhǎo | Hello!
- 2. 您好 | Nínhǎo | Hello (polite)
- 3. 大家好 | Dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody!
- 4. 老师好 | Lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher!
- 5. 下午好 | Xiàwǔhǎo | Good afternoon!
- 6. 晚上好 | Wǎnshànghǎo | Good evening!
- 7. 早 | Zǎo | Good morning (informal)
- 8. 喂 | Wéi | Hello (used when answering the phone)
- 9. 你吃了吗 | Nĭ chī le ma? | Have you eaten?
- 10. 嗨 | Hāi | Hi!
- 11. 嘿 | Hēi | Hey!
- 12. 哈喽 | Hālóu | Hello!
- Bringing it all together
- Chinese Vocabulary: How to Say Hi in Chinese
12 Common Ways to Say “Hi” in Chinese
1. 你好 | Nĭhǎo | Hello!
你好, or “nĭhǎo” in pīnyīn, is the greeting most commonly taught in beginner Chinese textbooks. Composed of the characters for «you» (你 nĭ) and «good» (好 hǎo), it literally means “you good.” If you’re a beginner in Chinese, you can’t really go wrong with using 你好 nĭhǎo for «hello.» Therefore, you shouldn’t worry if it’s the only greeting you master at first.
If you pay attention to how Chinese people greet each other, however, you won’t usually hear them saying “你好.” This is because 你好 is a somewhat formal greeting that can sound a bit stiff to native speakers.
In fact, 你好 isn’t normally used among friends. The most common situation in which native Chinese speakers use this word is when meeting someone new.
If two people who are around the same age and who see each other as equals are introduced to each other, they might say, “你好，你好” while shaking each other’s hands. If they already know each other, however, they’re more likely to use a more informal greeting.
你好 is also occasionally used as a written greeting from a superior to a subordinate. Keep in mind, however, that it does sound somewhat formal compared to many of the other more common greetings introduced below.
Knowing a variety of different ways to say «hi» in Chinese will ensure that you’re prepared for every situation.
2. 您好 | Nínhǎo | Hello (polite)
Many beginning students of Chinese will have learned that the formal way to say hello is 您好 (nínhǎo). If you’re new to Chinese, you can remember that 您好 is used to show respect by noticing that the only difference between 你 and 您 is that the 您 in 您好 has 心 (xīn), the Chinese character for heart, underneath it.
This detail can be thought of as indicating that 您好 is more heartfelt or sincere.
The best time to use this greeting is when you’re meeting a person who’s substantially older than you, a teacher, a superior or an important person. It can also be used to address someone to whom you otherwise want to show respect for the first time. You can also use 您好 in written form as a greeting in more formal correspondence.
Hello from Guilin!
3. 大家好 | Dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody!
If you’re looking for a way to greet a group of people, you’ve found it in “大家好” (dàjiā hǎo). 大家 means “everybody” or “everyone” in Chinese, so this greeting literally means “everyone good.”
More accurately, though, it can be translated as “hello everybody.” This is a great greeting with which to address a group.
If you continue reading, you’ll soon notice many Chinese greetings can be created by adding 好 after other characters that represent either the person or people you want to address. This is the case with 大家好.
Greetings are also frequently created by adding 好 after characters representing a time of day. One example of this is the phrase 下午好 (xiàwǔhǎo, or “Good afternoon”), discussed below.
As a student in China, knowing how to say «hello teacher» in Chinese is an essential skill.
4. 老师好 | Lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher!
If you’re studying Chinese, you can consider greeting your teacher by saying 老师好 (lǎoshī hǎo). Translated literally, this phrase means “teacher good,” but it actually means “Hello, teacher.”
This greeting follows a pattern that’s similar to 你好 (nĭhǎo) and 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo) above. To construct it, first write the characters for the person you wish to address, in this case, your teacher, or 老师. Then, add 好.
In the United States, teachers are addressed just like everyone else using a combination of their titles and last names. In China, however, it’s common to call teachers 老师. As a matter of fact, most Chinese people greet those who work as teachers with 老师好 even if they’re not their teacher.
The Confucian tradition still has an outsized influence on modern Chinese society. As a result, education is considered very important and teachers are held in high esteem. People sometimes even refer to those they respect who don’t actually work as teachers as 老师 to show how much they admire them!
Playing traditional Chinese strategy games like go is a great way to practice your Chinese language skills.
5. 下午好 | Xiàwǔhǎo | Good afternoon!
Another common pattern used to create greetings is to include the time of day when you’re meeting the person you wish to greet, followed by 好.
For example, if you’re greeting someone in the afternoon, which is 下午 in Mandarin, then you’d say 下午好 (xiàwǔhǎo).
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6. 晚上好 | Wǎnshànghǎo | Good evening!
In keeping with the pattern introduced above, if you happen to meet someone at night, you can create a greeting by starting with the Chinese word for night, which is 晚上, and adding 好 at the end. Thus, your greeting becomes 晚上好 (wǎnshànghǎo).
Be careful: the literal translation for this phrase is “night good,” and English speakers may be tempted to reverse the order and assume that this is actually a way to say “good night.” However, this interpretation is incorrect. In English, “goodnight” is not a greeting. Rather, it’s a way to say goodbye to someone.
In Chinese, by contrast, 晚上好 (wǎnshànghǎo) means “good evening” and is a greeting, not a way to bid someone goodnight.
If you want to say goodnight to someone in Chinese, you should say 晚安 (wǎn’ān).
Just like English, Chinese has different greetings to use for different times of day.
7. 早 | Zǎo | Good morning (informal)
If you wish to greet someone in the morning, use the word for morning, which is 早上, followed by 好. This produces the common greeting 早上好 (zǎoshànghǎo; good morning). It’s also possible to say 早 (zǎo), which also means good morning.
Note that while it’s possible to simply say 早 in the morning, shortening greetings in this way doesn’t work in other contexts. It’s not acceptable to follow this pattern by simply saying “下” for 下午好 (xiàwǔhǎo) or “晚” for 晚上好 (wǎnshànghǎo). Only 早上好 can be shorted this way.
While 早 and 早上好 are both more or less the same, 早 is slightly less formal. You can think of 早 (zǎo) as being similar to the more relaxed English greeting “mornin’.” 早上好, on the other hand, is simply “good morning.”
早 can be used among friends or people you are familiar with. 早上好 (zǎoshanghǎo) is better to use with older people, superiors, or people you’ve just met.
Learning a martial art like tai chi is a wonderful way to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture while practicing your language skills.
8. 喂 | Wéi | Hello (used when answering the phone)
喂, or “wéi” in pīnyīn, is a greeting that’s exclusively used for answering the phone in China.
In English speaking countries, the greetings used over the phone are usually the same as those used in everyday life. Indeed, most English speakers simply say “hello” when they pick up the phone.
In China, however, it sounds strange to answer the phone by saying 你好 (nĭhǎo). Instead, most people answer the phone by saying 喂 (wéi). Usually, they put extra emphasis on this character’s rising tone, pronouncing it like a single-word question.
If you want to be more polite or you suspect that there’s an important caller on the other end of the line, you can also add 你好 (nĭhǎo). However, it sounds more natural to say 喂，你好 (wéi, nĭhǎo) than to simply say 你好 by itself.
Note that many dictionaries present two different entries for 喂, one with a rising tone (wéi) and one with a falling tone (wèi). When pronounced with a falling tone, 喂 can sometimes serve as an interjection used to get other people’s attention. However, it most commonly occurs as a way to answer the phone. In that context, it’s pronounced with a rising tone.
The more ways to say «hi» in Chinese that you know, the more comfortable you’ll feel engaging in day-to-day interactions while living in China.
9. 你吃了吗 | Nĭ chī le ma? | Have you eaten?
Beginning students of Chinese are sometimes taught that “你吃了吗?” (Nĭ chī le ma?) which means “Have you eaten?,” is a common greeting in China.
This greeting is less commonly used than you might think, however. Today, it’s somewhat outdated, and it’s more common to hear it from older people, especially those living in the countryside or in smaller towns.
Young people are very unlikely to greet each other this way. In fact, saying this to anyone except members of the older generations sounds a bit strange in modern China.
This greeting can be confusing, since it sounds like a question that actually requires an answer, much like the common American English greeting “How’s it going?” However, 你吃了吗 isn’t meant as an actual question that requires a detailed answer.
Contrary to what many might think, this greeting is not meant as an invitation to a meal. It’s simply a polite thing to say. Thus, even if you haven’t actually eaten anything, it’s usually easier to reply “吃了，你呢?” (Chī le, nĭ ne?), which means, “I’ve eaten, and you?”
If you answer that you haven’t eaten anything yet, you’ll put the person who greeted you in an awkward situation. This is because they’ll feel compelled to invite you to eat, an invitation which they’ll then expect you to politely turn down.
Keep in mind that this greeting is not normally used upon the first meeting. Usually, you’ll only be asked this by people with whom you’re already somewhat familiar.
10. 嗨 | Hāi | Hi!
嗨, or “hāi” in pīnyīn, is an informal greeting used by young people in urban areas to greet friends and other people around their age. It’s actually a loanword from English and is simply the Chinese form of the English greeting “hi.”
You’ll often hear young people greeting other young people this way in person. It’s also common to see the written form of 嗨 as a greeting on popular social media platforms like WeChat.
Informal greetings are great for addressing Chinese friends around your own age.
11. 嘿 | Hēi | Hey!
Like 嗨 above, 嘿, or “hēi” in pīnyīn, is a loanword taken from English. It’s modeled off of the sound and meaning of the informal English greeting “hey.”
Like 嗨 (hāi), 嘿 (hēi) is often used among young people in urban areas to informally greet friends or other people of a similar age. It can also be used in written form on social media.
Learning both formal and informal Chinese greetings ensures you can interact with everyone!
12. 哈喽 | Hālóu | Hello!
Like 嗨 (hāi) and 嘿 (hēi) above, 哈喽, or “hālóu” in pīnyīn, is a loanword from English. Note that the characters for 哈喽 are sometimes also written as 哈啰.
This greeting is modeled off of the English greeting “hello,” and sounds quite similar. It’s also an informal, somewhat playful greeting.
Most commonly, it’s used by young urbanites both in person and occasionally online to address their peers.
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To succeed in mastering Chinese characters, there are 3 secrets: learners need to begin with the most useful characters, study them in the most effective order, and use repetition galore. Flash cards are ideal for this, and the Chinese Characters Flash Cards Kit offers the learner the right characters in the right learning order.
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Bringing it all together
Watch this short video to learn how to pronounce several of these greetings and discover some others not mentioned above. If you’re interested in learning to write the Chinese characters for Chinese greetings, consider using Skritter to practice.
After greeting someone new, you’ll need to know how to introduce yourself. To do that effectively, you’ll need to know how to say your name in Chinese. And of course, if you really want to impress your new friends, you should work with a Chinese teacher either online or in person to pick out a whole new, culturally appropriate Chinese name for yourself.
When meeting and greeting new people, it’s also important to gain familiarity with the Chinese rules of etiquette. Brush up on the above vocabulary and pay attention to the basic Chinese rules of politeness and you will be greeting people in China like a pro before you know it!
Interested in expanding your mastery of basic Chinese a bit further? Check out our articles on 10 common ways to say «no» and «yes» in Chinese or explore our list of the 100 most common characters to continue learning!
Studying Chinese in China is the best way to take your Chinese skills to the next level.
Chinese Vocabulary: How to Say Hi in Chinese
| Hànzì | pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nĭhǎo | hello |
| 您好 | nínhǎo | hello (polite) |
| 大家好 | dàjiā hǎo | hello everybody |
| 老师好 | lǎoshī hǎo | hello teacher |
| 下午好 | xiàwǔ hǎo | good afternoon |
| 晚上好 | wǎnshàng hǎo | good evening |
| 早 | zǎo | mornin’ |
| 喂 | wéi | hello (when answering the phone) |
| 你吃了吗 | nĭ chī le ma | have you eaten? (used as greeting) |
| 嗨 | hāi | hi (loanword from English) |
| 嘿 | hēi | hey (loanword from English) |
| 哈罗 | hāluó | hello (loadword from English) |
| 问好 | wènhǎo | send one’s regards to |
| 打招呼 | dǎzhāohu | to greet / to notify |
Chinese learning has become popular in many countries. People learn Chinese for various reasons. Some consider China a fascinating country for job-hunting and career development, others are passionate about gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.
When it comes to language learning, the first question people tend to ask is how to say “hello”. There are several words and phrases you can use to express “hello” in Chinese.
10 Ways To Say Hello in Chinese
你好 nǐ hǎo：the most common way to say hello in Chinese
As has been mentioned above, “你好 (nǐ hǎo)” is the most common way to say hello in Chinese, and it can be used anytime during the day. “你 (nǐ)” means “you”, and “好 (hǎo)” means “good”. Therefore, the literal meaning of this word is “you good”. Chinese people say “你好 (nǐ hǎo)” to each other as this word is considered “well-wishing”. The hidden meaning behind this word is that Chinese people hope everything is going well with their family members and friends, or sometimes even strangers.
您好 nín hǎo
This word is another popular way to say hello in Chinese (especially in Northern China). The difference between “您好 nín hǎo” and “你好 nǐ hǎo” lies in the meaning of “您 nín”, which is the polite form of “you”. Therefore, if you meet someone for the very first time, or when you would like to say hello to people from older generations, it’s better to say “您好 nín hǎo”. However, you don’t need to strictly follow this rule if you live in Southern China as “你好 nǐ hǎo” is much more commonly used in various situations.
你们好 nǐmen hǎo
“你们好 nǐmen hǎo” also means “hello”, in which “你们 nǐmen” stands for the plural form of “you”. Hence, this word is usually used when you see a group of people.
大家好 dà jiā hǎo
The meaning of this word is slightly different from that of the three words explained above. “大家 dà jiā” can be translated as “everyone”. Therefore, the actual meaning of this word is “hello everyone”. It can be used, let’s say, when you meet a group of new friends. In addition to this, you can also use this word to say hello to your new colleagues on the first day when you arrive at your new workplace.
You can study the greetings and goodbyes in Chinese on LingQ. Work through the lesson and translate words and phrases you don’t know to add to your personal database of vocabulary:
喂 wèi
Chinese learners, especially beginners need to be careful with the use of this word. Despite the fact that “喂 wèi” indeed means “hello”, however, it’s only used when people are talking on the phone. Meanwhile, many young people in China tend to say “你好 nǐ hǎo” instead of “喂 wèi” even if they are talking on the phone. Another important factor you should always bear in mind is that you need to avoid using “喂 wèi” when you see someone face to face. The reason for that is because using “喂 wèi” in this situation would make you sound quite rude.
早 zǎo /早上好 zǎo shàng hǎo
In addition to the five Chinese words explained above, there are some other ways to say hello in Chinese depending on the time of day. For instance, if you would like to say hello to your colleagues after arriving at the office in the morning, you could say “早 (zǎo)” or “早上好 (zǎo shàng hǎo)”. Both phrases mean “good morning”, and the key word “早 (zǎo)” means “early”. Consequently, if you bump into your buddy in the afternoon, you could say “下午好 (xià wǔ hǎo)”, in which “下午 (xià wǔ)” means “afternoon”. When you see, let’s say, some friends at a party on a Friday evening, you could replace “你好 (nǐ hǎo)” with “晚上好 (wǎn shàng hǎo)”, which means “good evening”.
你吃了吗? nǐ chī le ma?
This is a popular question that Chinese people ask during lunch breaks and in the evening. What is interesting about this question is that its actual meaning is “Have you eaten?” or “Have you finished your lunch/dinner?”. Chinese people ask this question when they see someone they know not because they really care about the fact that if this person has finished his or her meal, but because it’s a common way to start a casual conversation. Therefore, the “function” of this question is similar to that of “hello” or “how are you doing?” in English. Chinese people’s habit of asking this question to start a small talk implicitly reflects China’s rich food culture, which is famous worldwide.
嗨 hāi /哈喽 hā lóu
You can easily tell that these two words mean “hello” based on their pronunciation. Nowadays, young people in China are open-minded and susceptible to western culture. They are willing to learn foreign languages and communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, quite a few loan words can now be observed in the Chinese language. “嗨 (hāi)” and “哈喽 (hā lóu)” are typical loan words that Chinese people use on a daily basis.
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Do you know your Chinese greetings yet? Today we will teach you how to say “hello in Chinese.” Just like English, there are many ways to say this simple phrase. In fact, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 ways to greet people in Mandarin. Each one is slightly different and can be used in a different context. Also, it’s good when learning a language to know multiple variations of a phrase. That way, if a native speaker starts using these other greetings, you’re already prepared!
1. 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) – “Hello”
2. 嘿 (Hēi) – “Hey”
This is the Chinese transliteration of the English word “hey.” The most similar Chinese word is “Hēi” which sounds exactly the same with a first tone (the mi in do-re-mi!). Cool, huh?
3.嗨 (Hāi) – “Hi”
Similar, but for the word “hi.” The closest Chinese word is “Hāi” which should sound exactly the same as “hi.” Same with a first tone!
4. 哈罗 (Hā luō) – “Hello”
The last transliteration, we promise!! But this is how Chinese would put “hello” into Chines pronunciation. It sounds like “ha” and “low” put together.
5. 早！(zǎo) – “Morning!”
This is short for 早上好 (zǎo shang hǎo), which means “good morning.” It’s pretty much used the exact same way as it is in English. So, if you want to say hi to someone in the morning you can just say “zǎo!” Great way to greet your neighbors or colleagues every day.
6. 你吃了吗？(nǐ chī le ma?) – “Have you eaten?”
This phrase has some historical context. During poorer times in China, it wasn’t always guaranteed you had eaten all 3 meals. So, due to these desperate times, a common way to greet just became “Have you eaten?” This was very literal at the time and a polite question. Interestingly, people still commonly use this phrase as a greeting today! Even wealthy families in Beijing will say hi to each other with a quick “nǐ chī le ma?”
The point to note here is that people are not necessarily asking out to lunch, on a date, or whatever. Just take it as “hello” and you’ll be fine!
7. 最近好吗？(zuì jìn hào mǎ) “How are you these days?”
This is less common but still used. 最近 / zuì jìn directly translates to “recently” or “in the recent past.” The whole phrase is basically “how have things been going?” or more simply “how are things recently?” Again, this is just a polite greeting in China. While you can talk about what you’ve been up to lately, you can simply respond with a “good” or just an acknowledging grunt. Both are satisfactory answers.
8. 去哪儿？(qù nǎ er) – “Where are you going?”
This is a Chinese greeting that’s commonly used when you run into someone. Some people might find this nosy, but it’s just a normal question in China. This one you can answer where you are going. 去哪儿？我去上课。Where are you going? I’m going to class.
Fun fact: one of the biggest travel websites in China is called “QuNar.” It’s a very clever name since people think of the company every time they say the word!
9. 喂 (wèi) – “Hello?”
This is actually a super useful Chinese greeting. In most of the world, when you pick up a phone, you can use any standard greeting. Hi, hello, [Name] speaking. In China, this is not so! Chinese people always say the same thing every time they pick up the phone. This is the first thing that Chinese people say when they pick up the phone. It’s just like when English speakers say “hello?” on the phone. Learn it!
10. 好久不见！(hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn) – “Long time no see!”
This expression you’ve probably heard before. This is a great example of pidgin English! This phrase was originally in Chinese but translated character by character between early merchants. Fun fact for your next cocktail party!
We hope you enjoyed learning 10 Ways to Say “Hello in Chinese”. Sign up our free trial to learn Mandarin and download the Chinese App for more Chinese language materials and to learn Mandarin online.
