Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | lí hó | /ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ni⁵³ xau⁵³/ (Mandarin, Xi'an, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
| 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰 | hāi | slang |
The standard way to say 'hi' is 你好, which is the most common greeting. For a very casual or slang approach, you can use 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰. You might also use time-specific greetings like 早上好 (good morning) before noon or 午安 (good afternoon) to greet someone in the afternoon.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你好 is composed of 你 (you) and 好 (good).
Which one should you use?
While 你好 is the standard greeting, 您好 is a polite version used when addressing elders or superiors. For casual slang, use 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Use 您好 to show respect to superiors or elders. 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰 is categorized as slang.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form сэляму is used by Dungan speakers, who are Chinese-speaking Muslims in Central Asia. The form 你好 (romanized as lí hó) is used in Hokkien/Min Nan dialects.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 你好 is lí hó.
When do people say it?
When greeting someone after a long period of absence, you can use the phrase 好久不见 to express that it has been a long time since you last met. In informal conversations, you can follow a greeting with 你怎么样？ to ask 'how are you?'
Did you know?
- In many Chinese circles, the most common 'hi' is not 你好 but rather asking if someone has eaten, using 你吃了吗？ This is a greeting of care and social bonding rather than a literal question about a meal.
- When using 您好 to show respect, the character 您 is visually just the character 你 with the symbol for 'heart' 心 added at the bottom.
- The Dungan people, who speak a variety of Chinese in Central Asia, use the form сэляму, which is a Chinese-influenced adaptation of the Arabic greeting 'as-salamu alaykum'.
Examples in context
- 你好！我叫汤姆。你叫什么？Hi, my name is Tom. What is yours?This example shows how to introduce yourself using 你好.Tatoeba #10019632 by GlossaMatik, translation #7519132 by CK
- 你好。Hi.This is a simple use of 你好 as a standalone greeting.Tatoeba #4857568 by musclegirlxyp, translation #538123 by CM
- 你好，好久不見。Hi, long time no see.This demonstrates using 你好 alongside a phrase for long time no see.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues meet in the office hallway.
- 梓涵 Zihan你好，志强！早安。Nǐ hǎo, Zhìqiáng! Zǎoān.Hi, Zhiqiang! Good morning.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你好，梓涵。你今天看起来很精神。Nǐ hǎo, Zǐhán. Nǐ jīntiān kàn qǐlái hěn jīngshén.Hi, Zihan. You look very energetic today.
- 梓涵 Zihan谢谢！你要去开会吗？Xièxiè! Nǐ yào qù kāihuì ma?Thanks! Are you going to the meeting?
- 志强 Zhiqiang是的，我们一起走吧。Shì de, wǒmen yīqǐ zǒu ba.Yes, let's go together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries 你好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
