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 |
The most common and widely used way to say hello in Chinese is 你好, which is appropriate for any formal or informal situation. For specific times of day, you can use 早上好 for "good morning", 下午好 for "good afternoon" or 晚上好 for "good evening". Among friends, you might use the casual "what's up?" expressed as 干嘛呢 or the English-inspired 嗨 (hi).
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 standard, 您好 is a more polite and respectful way to address someone of higher status or an elderly person. To greet a group of people rather than an individual, use the plural form 你們好.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
你好 is versatile and can be used in both formal and informal settings. For high levels of respect, use 您好. In very casual settings, especially among younger people, you can use the informal loanwords 嗨 or the colloquial phonetic transcription 哈囉. The slang term ciallo is also available in informal contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Dungan language, versions of hello include ни хо, сэляму and хома. In Hokkien, you can say 汝好.
How does it change in a sentence?
To address more than one person, use the plural form 你們好.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is nǐ hǎo.
Did you know?
- In many Chinese-speaking regions, the way people greet each other is often to ask if you have eaten yet, using the phrase 吃了吗 (chī le ma).
- The polite form 您好 uses a special character 您 that adds a 'heart' radical 心 to the bottom of the word for 'you'. This visually represents that the greeting comes from the heart.
- When answering the phone, Chinese speakers rarely use 你好. Instead, they use 喂, which is a phonetic sound used specifically to get someone's attention on a call.
Examples in context
- 你好，汤姆。Hello, Tom.This is useful for greeting Tom with 你好.Tatoeba #5092241 by mirrorvan, translation #54604 by Zifre
- 你好！林峰。Hello! Linfeng.This is useful for greeting Linfeng with 你好.Tatoeba #6149244 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276580 by Kiwi
- 你好！明惠。Hello! Minghui.This is useful for greeting Minghui with 你好.Tatoeba #6149245 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276550 by Kiwi
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Haoran meets Xiaowen in a cafe.
- 浩然 Haoran你好，晓雯。Nǐ hǎo, Xiǎowén.Hello, Xiaowen.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你好，浩然。Nǐ hǎo, Hàorán.Hello, Haoran.
- 浩然 Haoran你最近怎么样？Nǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?How have you been lately?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我很好，谢谢。Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè.I am very well, thank you.
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.
