Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | /ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ni⁵³ xau⁵³/ (Mandarin, Xi'an, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 您好 | nín hǎo | /nin³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /nei̯¹³ hou̯³⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
polite |
| 你們好 / 你们好 | nǐmen hǎo | ||
| 好 | hǎo | /xɑʊ̯²¹⁴/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /xau⁵³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 嗨 | hāi | /xaɪ̯⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /haːi̯⁵⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
|
| 哈囉 / 哈啰 | hāluó | ||
| 汝好 | lí hó | /li⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hɤ⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Sinological IPA) /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ho⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
While the word 好 means 'good', it is often used in many contexts as a response to mean 'okay' or 'fine' rather than as a greeting itself.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你好 is literally composed of 'you' (你) and 'good' (好).
Which one should you use?
你们好 is used when addressing a group. If you wish to show respect to an elder, a superior or someone you want to treat formally, use the polite form 您好 instead of 你好.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For formal morning greetings, you can use zǎo shàng hǎo. In the morning, you can also use the informal zǎo to mean 'morning'. For casual or friendly interactions, such as among friends or young people, you can use the loanword 嗨 or the transliteration 哈啰. The term ciallo is considered slang.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, the following forms are used: ни хо, сэляму and хома. In Hokkien, you can say 汝好.
How does it change in a sentence?
To address a group of people, use the plural form 你们好 instead of the singular 你好.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ hǎo (/ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/)
Did you know?
- Instead of a general 'hello', Chinese people often greet others by asking 吃了吗? ('chī le ma?'), which means 'have you eaten?'
- The term ciallo is an internet slang greeting derived from a Japanese character's catchphrase in the game ' Touhou Project'.
- While English uses 'hello' to initiate a call, in much of mainland China, the classic way to answer a telephone is to say 喂 (wèi) instead of a formal greeting.
Examples in context
- 你好，汤姆。Hello, Tom.This sentence is useful for practicing the greeting 你好 with a name.Tatoeba #5092241 by mirrorvan, translation #54604 by Zifre
- 你好！林峰。Hello! Linfeng.Tatoeba #6149244 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276580 by Kiwi
- 你好！明惠。Hello! Minghui.Tatoeba #6149245 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276550 by Kiwi
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A man encounters a woman in a park.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你好，佳怡。Nǐ hǎo, Jiāyí.Hello, Jiayi.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你好，志强。Nǐ hǎo, Zhìqiáng.Hello, Zhiqiang.
- 志强 Zhiqiang今天天气很好。Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo.The weather is very nice today.
- 佳怡 Jiayi是啊，真舒服。Shì a, zhēn shūfu.Yes, it is very comfortable.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hello” translations and entries 你好, 您好, 好, 嗨, 汝好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
