你好与再见
nǐ hǎo yǔ zàijiàn
The phrase 'hello and goodbye' in Chinese is 你好与再见 (nǐ hǎo yǔ zàijiàn).
This phrase combines a greeting used upon arrival with a parting phrase used when leaving. While 你好与再见 is the combined expression, speakers often use specific greetings depending on the time of day. For example, 早上好 is used for 'good morning' until noon, 下午好 is used for 'good afternoon' after noon but before evening and 晚上好 is used for 'good evening' between late afternoon and nighttime. To say 'hello', the most common and versatile method is 你好.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ hǎo yǔ zàijiàn
Did you know?
- In many parts of China, instead of saying 你好, people often greet each other by asking 你吃了吗? which translates to 'Have you eaten?'
- When saying goodbye, Chinese speakers might use 慢走, which literally means 'walk slowly', to show hospitality to a departing guest.
- The word 再 in 再见 means 'again', implying that the parting is only temporary and a meeting will recur.
Examples in context
- 李先生，您好Hello, Mr. Li.
Example conversation
Two students are discussing basic Chinese phrases in a classroom.
- 浩然 Haoran晓雯，你知道怎么说你好与再见吗？Xiǎowén, nǐ zhīdào zěnme shuō nǐhǎo yǔ zàijiàn ma?Xiaowen, do you know how to say hello and goodbye?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我知道，这很简单。Wǒ zhīdào, zhè hěn jiǎndān.I know, it's very simple.
- 浩然 Haoran请你教教我吧。Qǐng nǐ jiāo jiāo wǒ ba.Please teach me.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen没问题，现在就开始。Méi wèntí, xiànzài jiù kāishǐ.No problem, let's start now.
