你好
nǐ hǎoMandarin
Hello is written 你好 in both languages. Mandarin says 你好 (nǐ hǎo) and Cantonese says 你好 (néih hóu).
Meaning: greeting (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | Mandarin |
| 你好 | néih hóu | Cantonese |
On the phone, Mandarin speakers say 喂 (wèi) and Cantonese speakers say 喂 (wai).
Which one should you use?
The characters are the same, but the sounds differ. Mandarin uses a third tone twice in nǐ hǎo, and Cantonese uses a different tone pattern with the vowel éi in the first word.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Mandarin is the main language of mainland China and Taiwan, and Cantonese is the main language of Hong Kong and Guangdong.
Did you know?
- Cantonese keeps more tones than Mandarin, with six in common counting, while Mandarin has four.
Examples in context
- 你好，我叫李明。nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Lǐ Míng.Hello, my name is Li Ming. (Mandarin)
Example conversation
Wei in Beijing and Kam in Hong Kong greet each other on a video call.
- Wei你好！nǐ hǎo!Hello!
- Wei你好吗？nǐ hǎo ma?How are you?
