Ways to say it
| Chinese | 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 |
你好 is the most common way to say hello in Chinese. Other ways to greet include the casual loanwords 嗨 (hi) and 哈啰 or 哈啰 (hello), which are common among friends and young people. To greet a group of people informally, you can use 你們好 or 你们好 (hello everyone).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你好 is composed of 你, meaning 'you' and 好, meaning 'good'.
Which one should you use?
While 你好 is the standard greeting, 您好 is used specifically to show respect to elders, superiors or in formal business settings. For a group of people, use 你們好 or 你们好.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For higher levels of respect, use the polite form 您好. For highly informal or colloquial settings, you may use 嗨, 哈啰 or 哈啰, as well as the slang term ciallo.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Hokkien dialect, hello is said as 汝好. In the Dungan language, hello can be said as ни хо, сэляму or хома.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ hǎo /ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Did you know?
- The character 您 in 您好 is essentially the character 你 with a 'heart' radical 心 added underneath it. This visual addition physically embeds the concept of the 'heart' into the word for 'you' to show respect.
- In many parts of China, people traditionally greet each other by asking 'Have you eaten?' rather than saying 'hello'. This stems from a time when food security was a primary concern and showing care meant ensuring someone was well-fed.
- The slang term ciallo is not native to China but originated from a Japanese anime-style greeting that became a viral internet meme among Chinese youth.
Examples in context
- 你好，汤姆。Hello, Tom.This is useful for a simple greeting to Tom using 你好.Tatoeba #5092241 by mirrorvan, translation #54604 by Zifre
- 你好！林峰。Hello! Linfeng.This is useful for a greeting to Linfeng using 你好.Tatoeba #6149244 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276580 by Kiwi
- 你好！明惠。Hello! Minghui.This is useful for a greeting to Minghui using 你好.Tatoeba #6149245 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276550 by Kiwi
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two students meet on campus.
- 浩然 Haoran你好，梓涵！Nǐ hǎo, Zǐhán!Hello, Zihan!
- 梓涵 Zihan你好，浩然！Nǐ hǎo, Hàorán!Hello, Haoran!
- 浩然 Haoran你怎么样？Nǐ zěnmeyàng?How are you doing?
- 梓涵 Zihan我很好，谢谢。Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie.I am doing well, thanks.
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.
