嗨
hāi/xaɪ̯⁵⁵/
The Chinese phrase for hi casually is 嗨 (hāi).
嗨 is a casual and universal greeting that functions similarly to the English word "hi." It is a loanword from English and is commonly used in casual spoken settings as well as in digital communication.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
嗨 is an informal greeting typically used among friends or peers.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is hāi. The IPA is /xaɪ̯⁵⁵/.
When do people say it?
In informal social settings, you might follow a greeting with Nǐ Zěnme Yàng (你怎么样) to ask "How are you?" among friends or acquaintances. Note that if you are answering the phone, the casual greeting Wèi (喂) is more common, functioning like the English "hello?"
Did you know?
- Depending on the region, a person might respond to 嗨 not with another greeting, but by asking 吃了吗 (chī le ma), which means 'have you eaten'.
- In many Chinese digital spaces, people use 嗨 to mean 'high' or 'to get high', rather than just a greeting.
- While 嗨 is a loanword from 'hi', it is written with the 口 radical, which is a specific marker in Chinese characters used to indicate that a word represents a sound or a spoken action.
Examples in context
- 嗨，你好！hāi, nǐ hǎo!Hi, hello!
- 嗨，大家早安。hāi, dà jiā zǎo ān.Hi, good morning everyone.
- 嗨，好久不见。hāi, hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn.Hi, long time no see.
Example conversation
Yuting sees Wei at a cafe.
- 雨婷 Yuting嗨，伟！hāi, Wěi!Hi, Wei!
- 伟 Wei嗨，雨婷，好巧啊。hāi, Yǔtíng, hǎo qiǎo a.Hi, Yuting, what a coincidence.
- 雨婷 Yuting你在这里做什么？nǐ zài zhè lǐ zuò shén me?What are you doing here?
- 伟 Wei我正准备喝咖啡。wǒ zhèng zhǔn bèi hē kā fēi.I am just about to have some coffee.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 嗨, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 嗨, CC BY-SA 4.0.
