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 |
You may also see phonetic loanwords from English used in modern, casual settings, such as 嗨 (hi) or 哈啰 (hello). In very informal or internet-based contexts, you might encounter the slang term ciallo.
What does it mean word for word?
The standard greeting 你好 is composed of two parts: 你, meaning "you" and 好, meaning "good".
Which one should you use?
While 你好 is the standard greeting, 您好 is the polite form used to show respect toward someone older or in a position of authority. To address a group of people, use 你们好.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Use 您好 for formal situations where you need to show respect to elders or superiors. For highly informal or modern settings, you can use the loanwords 嗨 or 哈啰.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Dungan language, other forms of hello include ни хо, сэляму and хома. In Hokkien, you can use 汝好.
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn the greeting into a plural form to say "hello to you all", add the plural suffix 们 to 你, resulting in 你们好.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 你好 is nǐ hǎo. The IPA pronunciation is /ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/.
Did you know?
- In many parts of China, instead of saying 'hello', people traditionally greet each other by asking 'Have you eaten yet?' using the phrase 吃了吗? (chī le ma?).
- The character 好 in 你好 is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the characters for 'woman' and 'child', which together represent the idea of 'good'.
- The internet slang ciallo is not a native Chinese word but was imported from a Japanese voice line in a popular game, then adapted into Chinese internet subculture.
Examples in context
- 你好，汤姆。Hello, Tom.This example shows how to use 你好 when greeting a person named Tom.Tatoeba #5092241 by mirrorvan, translation #54604 by Zifre
- 你好！林峰。Hello! Linfeng.This example shows how to use 你好 when greeting a person named Linfeng.Tatoeba #6149244 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276580 by Kiwi
- 你好！明惠。Hello! Minghui.This example shows how to use 你好 when greeting a person named Minghui.Tatoeba #6149245 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276550 by Kiwi
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Xiao Wen meets Zhi Qiang in a hallway.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你好，志强。Nǐ hǎo, Zhìqiáng.Hello, Zhi Qiang.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你好，晓雯。Nǐ hǎo, Xiǎowén.Hello, Xiao Wen.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你今天看起来很精神。Nǐ jīntiān kàn qǐlái hěn jīngshén.You look very energetic today.
- 志强 Zhiqiang谢谢，你也是。Xièxiè, nǐ yě shì.Thanks, you too.
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.
