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 standard and most common way to say hello in Chinese is 你好. Other variations exist depending on the level of respect required, the number of people being addressed or the level of informality.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 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 specifically used to show respect. To address a group of people, use the plural form 你们好.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more polite and formal greeting, especially when addressing an elder, a customer or someone of higher status, use 您好. In casual settings among friends or young people, you might use the phonetic loanwords 嗨 (hi) or 哈啰 (hello). The slang term ciallo is also used in certain contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, you can say ни хо, сэляму or хома. In Hokkien, use 汝好. In Cantonese, locals greet each other in the morning using 早晨.
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn the singular 'you' into a plural greeting for a group, add the plural suffix 们 to the word for 'you' to create 你们好.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 您 used in 您好 is actually the character 你 with the symbol for 'heart' 心 added to the bottom. This visually represents the idea of speaking from the heart to show respect.
- In China, instead of saying 'hello', many people traditionally greet each other by asking 'Have you eaten?' (吃了吗?). This is a way to show care and warmth rather than a literal inquiry about your meal.
- Dungan is a language spoken by the Dungan people in Central Asia. It uses a Cyrillic alphabet to write Chinese-based words, which is why 你好 appears as ни хо.
Examples in context
- 你好，汤姆。Hello, Tom.This example shows how to use 你好 to greet Tom.Tatoeba #5092241 by mirrorvan, translation #54604 by Zifre
- 你好！林峰。Hello! Linfeng.This example shows how to use 你好 to greet Linfeng.Tatoeba #6149244 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276580 by Kiwi
- 你好！明惠。Hello! Minghui.This example shows how to use 你好 to greet Minghui.Tatoeba #6149245 by xjjAstrus, translation #6276550 by Kiwi
- 43 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Raining, Yuting and Haoran meet at a bus stop.
- 雨婷 Yuting你好，浩然。Nǐ hǎo, Hàorán.Hello, Haoran.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，你好！Yǔtíng, nǐ hǎo!Yuting, hello!
- 雨婷 Yuting你也带伞了吗？Nǐ yě dài sǎn le ma?Did you bring an umbrella too?
- 浩然 Haoran没有，我没带。Méiyǒu, wǒ méi dài.No, I didn't bring one.
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.
