Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | /ni²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ni⁵³ xau⁵³/ (Mandarin, Xi'an, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰 | hāi | slang | |
| 你好 | lí hó | /li⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hɤ⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Sinological IPA) /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ho⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
The primary way to say 'hi' is 你好, which is the most common and standard way to greet someone in Chinese. For a more casual, slangy greeting similar to the English 'hi', you can use 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰.
What does it mean word for word?
The standard phrase 你好 is composed of 你 meaning 'you' and 好 meaning 'good/well'.
Which one should you use?
While 你好 is the standard and complete way to say 'hi' or 'hello', the slang form 嗨 哈囉 / 哈啰 is less formal.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
你好 serves as a standard greeting. To elevate the level of formality or show respect to someone of higher status, you can use 您好.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form сэляму is specific to the Dungan language, which is a variety of Chinese spoken by Muslims in Central Asia. In regions such as Shanghai and parts of Jiangsu, locals may use the casual greeting 早, which literally means 'morning'.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for 你好 is nǐ hǎo.
Did you know?
- While 你好 is the standard 'hello', it is often not used between close friends or family members, who may instead ask if you have eaten yet.
- The character 口 in the phonetic construction of 嗨 acts as a semantic marker, signaling that the word relates to speech or mouth sounds.
- The term сэляму used by Dungan speakers is a linguistic bridge between Chinese and Islamic traditions in Central Asia.
Examples in context
- 你好！我叫汤姆。你叫什么？Hi, my name is Tom. What is yours?This sentence is useful for introducing yourself using 你好.Tatoeba #10019632 by GlossaMatik, translation #7519132 by CK
- 你好。Hi.This sentence shows a simple use of 你好.Tatoeba #4857568 by musclegirlxyp, translation #538123 by CM
- 你好，好久不見。Hi, long time no see.This sentence shows how to use 你好 when seeing someone after a long time.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries 你好, 你好, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 哈囉, 嗨, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
