拜拜
The English phrase "bye bye" is translated into Chinese as 拜拜.
拜拜 is used to say "bye bye" and is an informal loanword from English used in casual conversation. In online and text messaging contexts, the number 88 is also used to mean "bye bye".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
拜拜 is an informal phrase, particularly common among younger generations. In digital contexts like texting, you may also see the shorthand 88 used for the same purpose.
Did you know?
- In some Taiwanese contexts, 拜拜 refers specifically to the act of burning incense and praying at a temple.
- While 拜拜 is a phonetic imitation of the English 'bye bye', the characters themselves originally mean 'to worship' or 'to bow'.
- In early internet slang, the number 88 was part of a wider trend of using numbers as homophones for entire sentences to speed up typing.
Examples in context
- 拜拜！Bye-bye!This example is useful for seeing how to use 拜拜.Tatoeba #1746537 by kaenif, translation #6714881 by maaster
- 再见，明天见！Goodbye, see you tomorrow!
- 感谢您的时间。再见！Thank you for your time. Goodbye!
- 希望我们有机会再会！Hope we have the opportunity to meet again!
- 祝您旅途愉快，再会！Wish you a pleasant journey, goodbye!
- 明天见，拜拜！See you tomorrow, bye bye!
- 不好意思，我要走了，拜拜！Sorry, I have to go now, bye bye!
- 今天玩得很开心，88！I had a great time today, bye bye!
- 要去吃饭了，先走了，88！I'm going to eat now, bye bye!
- 下次见，拜拜。xià cì jiàn, bài bài.See you next time, bye bye.
- 好了，我要走了，拜拜！hǎo le, wǒ yào zǒu le, bài bài!Okay, I'm leaving, bye bye!
Example conversation
Junjie is leaving Xiaowen at the office.
- 俊杰 Junjie我今天先走了。wǒ jīn tiān xiān zǒu le.I'm leaving first today.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen好的，明天见。hǎo de, míng tiān jiàn.Okay, see you tomorrow.
- 俊杰 Junjie拜拜！bài bài!Bye bye!
- 晓雯 Xiaowen拜拜。bài bài.Bye bye.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 拜拜, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
