晚上好
wǎnshàng hǎo
晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo) is the Chinese way to say "good evening". Wiktionary also lists 晚安 (wǎn'ān).
Meaning: greeting said in the evening (intj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 晚上好 | wǎnshàng hǎo |
| 晚安 | wǎn'ān |
晚上好 is used as a greeting when arriving or meeting someone during the evening hours. It is a common and straightforward way to greet people in the evening.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 晚上好 is composed of 晚上, which means "evening" and 好, which means "good".
Which one should you use?
While 晚上好 is a greeting used when arriving or meeting someone in the evening, 晚安 is used when parting or going to sleep.
How do you pronounce it?
wǎnshàng hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 好 in 晚上好 is a phono-semantic compound combining the characters for 'woman' and 'child', implying that having both is 'good'.
- In many Chinese social settings, instead of saying 'good evening', people greet each other by asking if they have eaten, such as 吃了吗? (chī le ma?). This is a way of showing care and friendliness.
- While 晚上好 is a standard greeting, many locals prefer to simply say 你好 (nǐ hǎo) regardless of the time of day. Using the specific time-based greeting can sometimes feel slightly more formal or even 'textbook' than natural speech.
Examples in context
- 晚上好！Good evening.This sentence demonstrates a simple greeting using 晚上好.Tatoeba #6559016 by xjjAstrus, translation #333156 by Aurix
- 晚上好，你好吗？Good evening, how are you?This sentence shows how to use 晚上好 in a basic question.Tatoeba #545888 by sysko, translation #413820 by Dorenda
- 晚上好，女人与男人。Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.This sentence shows 晚上好 being used in a formal address to an audience.Tatoeba #8905135 by iiujik, translation #1597893 by fanty
- 晚上好，我是来自美国的代表。Good evening, I am a representative from the United States.
- 晚上好啊！今天一起吃晚饭吗？Good evening! Shall we have dinner together tonight?
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues meet in the hallway after 6 PM.
- 佳怡 Jiayi晚上好，俊杰！Wǎnshàng hǎo, Jùnjié!Good evening, Junjie!
- 俊杰 Junjie晚上好，佳怡。Wǎnshàng hǎo, Jiāyí.Good evening, Jiayi.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你还在工作吗？Nǐ hái zài gōngzuò ma?Are you still working?
- 俊杰 Junjie是的，我马上就走。Shì de, wǒ mǎshàng jiù zǒu.Yes, I'm leaving soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good evening” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
