你好
nǐ hǎo/ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
In Chinese, 'hi there' is translated as 你好 (nǐ hǎo).
你好 is a friendly greeting used to say hello to someone.
What does it mean word for word?
The first character, 你, means 'you'.
Which one should you use?
To say 'hi there' to a group of people instead of one person, use 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo) instead of 你好.
How does it change in a sentence?
Replacing 你 with 您 creates the polite form 您好, used when addressing elders or superiors.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ hǎo
Did you know?
- The character 好 in 你好 means 'good', but it is also composed of the radicals for 'woman' and 'child'. This suggests that the concept of 'goodness' or 'harmony' is historically rooted in the balance of family elements.
- While 你好 is the standard greeting, Chinese speakers often greet acquaintances by asking 你吃了吗? which means 'Have you eaten?' This is a way of showing care rather than a literal question about your meal.
- Close friends in China rarely use 你好 to greet each other because it can feel too formal or distant. They are more likely to use English loanwords like 'Hi' or 'Hello'.
Examples in context
- 在开会之前，记得向所有人说：“你好！”Before the meeting, remember to say "Hello" to everyone!
- 嗨，你好久没见了！Hey, long time no see!
- 哟，最近怎么样？Yo, how have you been lately?
- 你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hi there.
- 老师，你好。Lǎoshī, nǐ hǎo.Hello, teacher.
Example conversation
Two acquaintances meet on the street.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen浩然，你好！Hàorán, nǐ hǎo!Hi there, Haoran!
- 浩然 Haoran晓雯，你好。Xiǎowén, nǐ hǎo.Hi there, Xiaowen.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你最近好吗？Nǐ zuìjìn hǎo ma?How have you been lately?
- 浩然 Haoran我很好，谢谢。Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè.I am very well, thanks.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 你好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
