晚上好
wǎnshang hǎo
The English phrase "have a good evening" is translated into Chinese as 晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo).
晚上好 is a greeting used when meeting someone during the evening.
Which one should you use?
Use 晚上好 to greet someone in the evening, but use 晚安 to say "good night" when someone is going to sleep or leaving for the night.
How do you pronounce it?
wǎnshang hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 好 in 晚上好 is composed of the radicals for 'woman' and 'son' which together imply 'good' or 'harmony'.
- If you use 晚上好 with a close friend, it might actually sound slightly stiff or even ironic, as if you are reading from a formal script rather than speaking naturally.
- The phrase 晚上好 is much more common in broadcast media and formal speeches than in daily street conversations among locals.
Examples in context
- 大家晚上好。Dàjiā wǎnshàng hǎo.Good evening, everyone.
Example conversation
Yuting and Zhiqiang meet at a community event in the evening.
- 雨婷 Yuting志强，晚上好！Zhìqiáng, wǎnshàng hǎo!Good evening, Zhiqiang!
- 志强 Zhiqiang雨婷，晚上好！你来了。Yǔtíng, wǎnshàng hǎo! Nǐ lái le.Good evening, Yuting! You're here.
- 雨婷 Yuting是的，我也想参加这个活动。Shì de, wǒ yě xiǎng cānjiā zhège huódòng.Yes, I wanted to join this event too.
- 志强 Zhiqiang太好了，我们一起进去吧。Tài hǎo le, wǒmen yìqǐ jìnqù ba.Great, let's go in together.
