你好
nǐ hǎo/ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
In Chinese, hi hello is 你好 (nǐ hǎo).
你好 is a common greeting used to say hello to someone. While it can be used to greet anyone, it is most commonly used when meeting someone for the first time or in formal settings.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'you good'. The first character 你 means 'you'.
Which one should you use?
你好 is the standard greeting, whereas 您好 is used specifically to show respect to elders or superiors.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, 哈囉 is the equivalent of hello or hi.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can create the polite version 您好 by replacing 你 with the respectful form 您.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is nǐ hǎo.
Did you know?
- In mainland China, it is common to greet someone by asking 吃了吗? which means 'Have you eaten?' This functions similarly to 'hello' and shows care for the person's well-being.
- The respectful version 您好 includes a 'heart' radical at the bottom of the character 您. This visually suggests that the respect is coming from the heart.
- The tone of 你好 actually changes during speech. While both characters are third tone, the first 你 shifts to a second tone for easier pronunciation, sounding like ní hǎo.
Examples in context
- 你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hello.
- 老师，你好！Lǎoshī, nǐ hǎo!Hello, teacher!
- 你好，很高兴见到你。Nǐ hǎo, hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ.Hello, nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Two students meet on campus.
- 梓涵 Zihan你好，浩然！Nǐ hǎo, Hàorán!Hello, Haoran!
- 浩然 Haoran你好，梓涵！Nǐ hǎo, Zǐhán!Hello, Zihan!
- 梓涵 Zihan你今天好吗？Nǐ jīntiān hǎo ma?How are you today?
- 浩然 Haoran我很好，谢谢。Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè.I am very well, thank you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 你好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
