你好
nei5 hou2everyday, Jyutping
In Cantonese, a Yue variety of Chinese, "hello" is written 你好 and pronounced nei5 hou2 in Jyutping. On the phone people say 喂 (wai2). It is also called 早晨 (zou2 san4).
Meaning: greeting (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nei5 hou2 | everyday, Jyutping |
| 喂 | wai2 | phone |
| 早晨 | zou2 san4 | morning greeting |
Before noon you can also greet someone with 早晨 (zou2 san4), which means "good morning".
Which one should you use?
Mandarin says nǐ hǎo for the same characters. The Cantonese sounds are different, so 你好 is nei5 hou2 here, with the numbers marking tones.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Cantonese is the main spoken Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong, and many Cantonese speakers write with Traditional characters.
Did you know?
- Jyutping is the romanization system created by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993, and it marks six tones with the numbers 1 to 6.
Examples in context
- 喂，你好。wai2, nei5 hou2.Hello (on the phone).
- 早晨！zou2 san4!Good morning!
Example conversation
Wing meets his friend Kit at a cafe in Hong Kong.
- Wing你好！nei5 hou2!Hello!
- Kit你好！好耐冇見。nei5 hou2! hou2 noi6 mou5 gin3.Hello! Long time no see.
- Wing你好嗎？nei5 hou2 maa3?How are you?
- Kit好好，多謝。hou2 hou2, do1 ze6.Very well, thanks.
