午安
gō-an
午安 (gō-an) is the Hokkien way to say good afternoon.
午安 is a greeting used during the afternoon hours.
Meaning: greeting said in the afternoon (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the characters for 'noon' (午) and 'peace/safety' (安), literally meaning 'noon peace'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
午安 is a formal greeting. It is less common in casual daily speech than other greetings.
How do you pronounce it?
gō-an
Did you know?
- In many Hokkien-speaking communities, instead of saying 'good afternoon', people often use a time-specific greeting like 'Have you eaten lunch yet?' to show care.
- Because Hokkien is a tonal language, the 'peace' in '午安' requires a specific pitch contour that, if missed, could make the word sound like other completely unrelated nouns.
- In many diaspora communities like those in Southeast Asia, English greetings like 'Good afternoon' are often mixed directly into Hokkien sentences due to colonial history.
Examples in context
- 午安。ngó͘-an.Good afternoon.
- 午安，大家辛苦了。ngó͘-an, ta̍k-ke sin-khú–ah.Good afternoon, everyone has worked hard.
Example conversation
Meiling and Jiahao meet in the hallway during the afternoon.
- 美玲 Mei-ling家豪，午安！Ka-hâu, gō͘-an!Good afternoon, Jiahao!
- 家豪 Ka-hao美玲，午安！Bí-lêng, gō͘-an!Good afternoon, Meiling!
- 美玲 Mei-ling你欲去佗位？Lí beh khì tó-uī?Where are you going?
- 家豪 Ka-hao我欲去圖書館。Góa beh khì tû-su-kǹg.I am going to the library.
