喂，你好
wèi, nǐ hǎo
In Chinese, "hello hello" is expressed as 喂，你好 (wèi, nǐ hǎo).
The phrase 喂，你好 is the standard way to answer a telephone call to confirm that the person on the other end is listening. While 你好 is a general greeting meaning "hello," it is often added after the interjection 喂 when on the phone to make the greeting sound more polite and complete.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of 喂, an interjection used almost exclusively to answer the phone or to get someone's attention in a noisy environment and 你好, which literally translates to "you good."
How do you pronounce it?
wèi, nǐ hǎo
Did you know?
- In some Chinese dialects, people skip the greeting entirely and answer the phone by asking 谁?, which means 'Who is it?'
- If you use the wrong tone for 喂, you might accidentally say 'to feed' or 'to obey' instead of the telephone interjection. Precision in tone is vital even for a simple phone greeting.
- Digital natives in China often bypass the traditional 喂 during voice calls on apps like WeChat, preferring a simple English 'hi' or a 'wave' emoji.
Examples in context
- 喂，你好，请问是王先生吗？Wèi, nǐ hǎo, qǐngwèn shì Wáng xiānsheng ma?Hello, hello, is this Mr. Wang?
- 喂，你好，我是李华。Wèi, nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì Lǐ Huá.Hello, hello, I am Li Hua.
- 喂，你好，请等一下。Wèi, nǐ hǎo, qǐng děng yíxià.Hello, hello, please wait a moment.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang receives a phone call from Yuting.
- 志强 Zhiqiang喂，你好。Wèi, nǐ hǎo.Hello, hello.
- 雨婷 Yuting喂，你好，志强吗？Wèi, nǐ hǎo, Zhìqiáng ma?Hello, hello, is this Zhiqiang?
- 志强 Zhiqiang是的，我是。Shì de, wǒ shì.Yes, it is me.
- 雨婷 Yuting我是雨婷。Wǒ shì Yǔtíng.It's Yuting.
