喂
wèi/weɪ̯⁵¹/
In Chinese, the phrase for hello when answering the phone is 喂 (wèi).
The phrase 喂 is used almost exclusively for answering the phone or to get someone's attention in a noisy environment, rather than as a general greeting like 'Ni hao'.
Which one should you use?
While 'Ni hao' is a standard greeting for face-to-face interactions, it is much less common than 'Wei' when first picking up a telephone call.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a question to check if someone is on the line, the tone often shifts to a rising or neutral tone.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is wèi (/weɪ̯⁵¹/).
Did you know?
- Outside of telephone use, 喂 is the standard way to call a dog or a pet, acting as the equivalent of 'come here' or 'hey' for animals.
- While English speakers often use 'Hello' to start a conversation, using the standard greeting 你好 to answer a phone call in China can actually make you sound like a stranger or a telemarketer.
- The phonetic component of 喂 is the word 畏, which means 'to fear' or 'to dread'.
Examples in context
- 喂，请问是张先生吗？Wèi, qǐngwèn shì Zhāng xiānshēng ma?Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Zhang?
- 喂，你在干嘛？Wèi, nǐ zài gànmá?Hello, what are you doing?
Example conversation
Zhiqiang calls Xiaowen to ask a question.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen喂，是谁呀？Wèi, shì shéi ya?Hello, who is this?
- 志强 Zhiqiang晓雯，是我，志强。Xiǎowén, shì wǒ, Zhìqiáng.Xiaowen, it is me, Zhiqiang.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen噢，志强，有什么事吗？Ō, Zhìqiáng, yǒu shénme shì ma?Oh, Zhiqiang, what is up?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我想问你一个问题。Wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yīgè wèntí.I want to ask you a question.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 喂, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 喂, CC BY-SA 4.0.
