你好
nei⁵ hou²
Hello in Cantonese can be expressed as 你好 (nei⁵ hou²) or 哈佬.
Meaning: greeting (intj)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 你好 | nei⁵ hou² |
| 哈佬 | haa¹ lou² |
Other common ways to greet people include the casual and friendly 嗨 (hi) or using 早晨 specifically to say good morning.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你好 literally translates to "you good".
Which one should you use?
你好 is the standard, polite way to say hello, whereas 哈佬 is a transliteration of the English "hello" used in more casual or specific contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
哈佬 is a phonetic loanword from English and is used as informal slang.
How do you pronounce it?
nei⁵ hou²
Did you know?
- While 你好 is the standard greeting, in many Cantonese-speaking regions, people often skip a verbal 'hello' entirely when meeting acquaintances and instead greet them by asking 'Have you eaten?' (食咗飯未?).
- In a professional telephone setting, instead of using 你好, a person might use 喂 (wai³) to say 'hello' when answering the phone.
- Cantonese speakers may greet an elder or a boss by using their title or relationship, such as 叔叔 (uncle), instead of using 你好 to show proper respect.
Examples in context
- 哈佬。Hello!The example with 哈佬 shows a simple greeting.Tatoeba #466373 by nickyeow, translation #373330 by CK
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Meiling and Zhiqiang meet for the first time at a party.
- 美玲 Mei Ling你好，我係美玲。nei5 hou2, ngo5 hai6 mei5 ling4.Hello, I am Meiling.
- 志強 Chi Keung你好，美玲。我係志強。nei5 hou2, mei5 ling4. ngo5 hai6 zi1 keung4.Hello, Meiling. I am Zhiqiang.
- 美玲 Mei Ling好高興認識你。hou2 gou1 hing3 jing6 sik1 nei5.Nice to meet you.
- 志強 Chi Keung我都好高興認識你。ngo5 dou1 hou2 gou1 hing3 jing6 sik1 nei5.I am also glad to meet you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hello” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
