21 Ways to Say 'Hello' in Mandarin Chinese!

We all know that first impressions are important, especially in a country like China where presentation is everything.

In English-speaking countries, we tend to greet people with the same word in nearly every situation: ‘Hello’, or some variation of it.

in China, however, ‘Hello’ is boring, and sort of doesn’t exist.

Let’s take a look at all of the different greetings you can use in Mandarin Chinese!

你好 | Nĭ hǎo

I mean, ‘Hello’ definitely exists, but it isn’t commonly used by people who are familiar with each other.

It’s often considered a bit too formal.

Instead, there are loads of different ways to greet friends and acquaintances.

你好 (nĭ hǎo) usually comes out more naturally when you are introduced to someone for the first time who’s of a similar status or age. This can come with a handshake (not a bow) to acknowledge each other’s presence.

By the way, as a foreigner who’s pretty new to the language, you are exempt from most social rules outlined in this post.

You can say nĭ hǎo to everyone and it’ll be totally fine.

您好 | Nín hǎo

With 你好, you used 你 (meaning ‘you’) whereas here you use 您. If you look closely, the latter character has the Chinese radical 心 (xīn) underneath 您. The character 心 (xīn) means heart. This indicates that the greeting is heartfelt or warm.

This greeting is more formal than the first, and it’s usually used when addressing an elder or someone with higher social status. Also, this greeting can be used in formal letters or correspondence.

你好吗? l Nǐ hǎo ma?

The Chinese characters 你 (Nǐ) means ‘you’, 好 (hǎo) is ‘good’, and 吗 (ma) is a grammatical marker signifying a yes or no question. So, this greeting literally translates to “How you are good?” Basically, it means “How are you?”

Once again, native speakers seldom use ‘你好吗’ as it’s a bit stiff and formal. For this reason, you can only hear this during formal gatherings or maybe if you’re talking to someone and you’re not sure if they are older than you.

Although 你好吗? is in a question format, it’s not meant to draw a detailed and lengthy answer. If someone asks you this in Chinese, note that they’re being very polite but not asking for your life story.

您好吗? l Nín hǎo ma?

Very rarely used, and very formal. Almost too formal. Kind of like bowing. Don’t bother.

大家好 | Dà jiā hǎo

The first four greetings are focused on one-on-one introductions, but if you need to address a group or large crowd, the correct greeting to use is 大家好 or ‘dà jiā hǎo.’

大家 (Dà jiā) means ‘everyone’ and 好 (hǎo) is ‘good’. Put together, its direct translation is ‘everybody good.’ Otherwise, it can be translated as ‘Hi everyone’ or ‘Hello everybody.’

As you can see, the character 好 (hǎo), meaning ‘good’, features in many introductory phrases and statements, and you’ll see it quite a few more times in this post, too.

老师好 | Lǎoshī hǎo

There will be instances when you have to add the title of the person you’re talking to or greeting for the first time. Instead of using 你好 (nĭ hǎo), you can use the title of their position, followed by 好 (hǎo).

老师 (lǎoshī) means teacher in Chinese, and this is an example you might hear quite often. Combining the characters, you get ‘teacher good.’ This is used to give a generic ‘Hello, teacher’ greeting when you meet your professor or Chinese teacher.

In the West, teachers are often addressed with their surnames. In China, however, you use 老师 as a generic term for all teachers, whether you are their student or not.

早 | Zǎo

Another way to say hello in the morning is by using 早 or ‘zǎo’, which means morning. This is the shortened version of 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo) which means ‘good morning’. This one is used quite frequently by most people in China but bear in mind that although you can shorten ‘good morning’ in Chinese, you can’t shorten ‘good afternoon’.

下午好 | Xiàwǔ hǎo

When the afternoon hits, switch your greeting from 早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo) or 早 (zǎo) to 下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo). By simply changing 早上 (zǎoshàng) to 下午 (xiàwǔ), you have customized your greeting to the time of the day.

下午 (xiàwǔ) in Mandarin means ‘afternoon.’ 下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo) means ‘good afternoon.’

Remember that you can’t shorten this to just 下午 (xiàwǔ) to greet someone! You can only do this with ‘早’.

晚上好 | Wǎnshànghǎo

When the sun goes down, instead of 早上 (zǎoshàng) or 下午 (xiàwǔ), you will be using 晚上 (wǎnshàng). Just like the previously mentioned greetings, all you have to do is add the character 好 (hǎo), which means good.

晚上 (wǎnshàng) means evening. So, 晚上好 or ‘Wǎnshàng hǎo’ is translated to ‘good evening.’

Unlike 早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo) which can be shorted to 早, 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo) and 下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo) stay the same.

Also, 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo) shouldn’t be used to bid someone farewell for the night. 晚安 (Wǎn’ān) means ‘good night’ in Chinese.

晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo) – Good evening
晚安 (Wǎn’ān) – Good night

喂 | Wéi

In English, we use ‘hello’ when answering the phone. In Chinese-speaking countries, they have their own separate ‘hello’ for answering the phone.

喂 (wéi)

Nobody says 你好 (nĭhǎo) over the phone. Remember to use the rising tone (wéi), otherwise, you’re saying something else!

In a formal setting like an office, people often use 你好 (nĭhǎo) after 喂 (wéi) to address the person on the other end of the line. So, you end up saying “喂, 你好。” (wéi, nĭhǎo).

你吃饭了吗? | Nǐ chī fàn le ma?

A very common way for people in China to casually greet each other is to ask if they’ve eaten yet. This one only tends to be used with people you are close to or familiar with.

To break it down, 你 (nĭ) is ‘you’, 吃 (chī) means ‘to eat’, 了 (le) is a grammatical participle meaning a change of state (in this case ‘already happened’), and 吗 (ma), is a question particle.

Literally, it means “You eat already?” Or in other words, “Have you eaten?”

Nowadays, this greeting is not used as often amongst younger folk in urban areas. The older generations still use it fairly frequently.

Do take note that the question is basically a simple ‘Hi’ and not an actual invitation to eat. When asked though, you can simply answer “吃了，你呢?” (Chī le, nĭ ne?) which means, “I have eaten, how about you?” This is a polite way to say hello back, without disclosing if you’ve actually eaten or not.

嗨! | Hāi!

More and more, younger people in China are incorporating English words into their daily lexicon. You’ll hear a lot of ‘OK’s and ‘Bye-bye’s’ in China. ‘Hi’ is also really common now, and it’s represented as an onomatopoeic expression with the character ‘嗨’.

嘿 | Hēi

Another loanword is ‘Hey.’ and is usually used to informally greet other people of the same age, just like 嗨 ‘Hāi’!

It sounds the same with the English counterpart “Hey,” which they use to talk to other people in person. On social media or written format, the use the character 嘿.

哈喽 | Hālóu

Getting kind of obvious now, right? Borrowed from the English word “hello.”

你怎么样? l Nǐ zěnmeyàng?

Another informal greeting is mainly used within your inner circle because this usually has a longer answer than 你好吗 (Nǐ hǎo ma).

It simply means ‘What are you up to?’ or ‘How are you doing?’

幸会 l Xìnghuì

This is a rather formal greeting that means ‘Nice to meet you.’ This greeting, however, is mostly heard from older folks.

久仰 l Jiǔyǎng

久仰 (jiǔ yǎng) literally means ‘long lasting’ but is used in Chinese to say ‘I’ve long been looking forward to meeting you’. or ‘I’m very pleased to meet you.’ This is very formal and polite and is used a lot more in professional or business environments

久闻大名 l Jiǔwéndàmíng

When meeting someone famous or of higher ranks for the first time, like government officials or celebrities, 久闻大名 or (jiǔwén dàmíng) can be said. It loosely translates to ‘Your name has been known to me for a long time.’

最近好吗? l Zuì jìn hào mǎ?

最近好吗? (Zuì jìn hào mǎ) is translated as ‘How are you recently?’ This is usually said amongst friends or acquaintances and a longer reply is expected than usual. In other words, it’s less of a formality and more of a genuine question.

好久不见 l Hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn

When greeting someone you have not seen for a long time, you use 好久不见 (Hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn) which means “Long time no see!”

去哪儿？l Qù nǎ er?

In English, this one can come across as a bit nosy, but as you can see from previous examples, it’s common in Chinese to ask about your purpose or your actions.

It’s just a way of showing a deeper concern for you. 去哪儿 (Qù nǎ er) means “Where are you going?”

This is commonly said during unexpected encounters, for example on a bus or along the street. Thus, it isn’t meant to pry about your private life, but just to say hello in Chinese.

21 Ways to Say ‘Hello’ in Mandarin Chinese!