嗨
hāicasual
The easiest casual way to say "hi" in Chinese is 嗨 (hāi), borrowed from English. Friends also say 哈喽 (hālóu), and 你好啊 (nǐ hǎo a) is a relaxed version of the standard 你好 (nǐ hǎo).
Meaning: casual greeting (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 嗨 | hāi | casual |
| 哈喽 | hālóu | casual, borrowed from English |
| 你好啊 | nǐ hǎo a | friendly |
嗨 (hāi) fits texts, chats and meeting people your own age. It is short and needs nothing after it. Use it with friends and classmates but not with a boss or an older relative.
Which one should you use?
你好 (nǐ hǎo) is the textbook greeting and can sound a little stiff between close friends. Adding 啊 (a) at the end softens it and makes it sound warmer.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For someone you should respect, switch to 您好 (nín hǎo) instead of the casual forms.
Did you know?
- 哈喽 (hālóu) is a sound-for-sound copy of the English "hello", and 嗨 (hāi) does the same for "hi".
Examples in context
- 嗨，好久不见！hāi, hǎojiǔ bújiàn!Hi, long time no see!
- 哈喽，你在干嘛？hālóu, nǐ zài gàn má?Hello, what are you up to?
- 你好啊，今天怎么样？nǐ hǎo a, jīntiān zěnmeyàng?Hi there, how is your day going?
Example conversation
Xiao Yu runs into her classmate Lei in the campus cafe.
- Xiao Yu嗨，小雷！hāi, Xiǎo Léi!Hi, Lei!
- Lei哈喽，你也来喝咖啡吗？hālóu, nǐ yě lái hē kāfēi ma?Hey, are you here for coffee too?
- Xiao Yu对啊，坐一起吧。duì a, zuò yìqǐ ba.Yes, let us sit together.
