您好
nín hǎo/nin³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
The Chinese phrase for hello politely is 您好 (nín hǎo).
您好 is a formal greeting used to show respect to the person being addressed. It is particularly appropriate when addressing someone in a higher social or professional position.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 您, which is the polite version of 'you' and 好, the word for 'good'.
Which one should you use?
You should use 您好 instead of 你好 when addressing elders, superiors or people to whom you wish to show formal respect.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
您好 is a formal greeting used in professional or respectful social settings.
How do you pronounce it?
nín hǎo
Did you know?
- The word 您 is actually a physical combination of the character for 'you' and the character for 'heart' underneath it.
- The character for 'good' in 您好, which is 好, is composed of the radicals for 'woman' and 'child'.
- While 您好 is standard for respect, in many traditional Chinese settings, a polite greeting focuses more on the other person's health or meal status than a general 'hello'.
Examples in context
- 您好，请坐。Nín hǎo, qǐng zuò.Hello, please have a seat.
- 王教授，您好。Wáng jiàoshòu, nín hǎo.Hello, Professor Wang.
- 您好，很高兴见到您。Nín hǎo, hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nín.Hello, it is nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Jiayi greets Junjie, a new business client, at the office.
- 佳怡 Jiayi俊杰先生，您好。Jùnjié xiānshēng, nín hǎo.Mr. Junjie, hello.
- 俊杰 Junjie佳怡小姐，您好。Jiāyí xiǎojiě, nín hǎo.Ms. Jiayi, hello.
- 佳怡 Jiayi欢迎来到我们的公司。Huānyíng láidào wǒmen de gōngsī.Welcome to our company.
- 俊杰 Junjie谢谢您的邀请。Xièxiè nín de yāoqǐng.Thank you for your invitation.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 您好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
