huānyíng
standard
In pinyin, "welcome" is huānyíng (欢迎). Shops and restaurants greet customers with huānyíng guānglín (欢迎光临), "welcome, thank you for coming". It is also called bú kèqi.
Meaning: welcome (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Note |
|---|---|
| huānyíng | standard |
| huānyíng guānglín | shops, restaurants |
| bú kèqi | you're welcome |
What does it mean word for word?
huān (欢) means joyful and yíng (迎) means to greet or meet, so the word is about greeting someone gladly. guānglín (光临) is a polite word for "honored arrival".
Which one should you use?
huānyíng is not the answer to "thank you". For "you are welcome" say bú kèqi (不客气) or méi guānxi (没关系).
How do you pronounce it?
Both syllables carry a mark. huān has the first tone, a high flat sound, and yíng has the second tone, which rises.
Did you know?
- Pinyin is the official romanization of Chinese and shows tones with marks above the vowels.
Examples in context
- huānyíng nǐ lái!欢迎你来!Welcome, glad you came!
- huānyíng guānglín!欢迎光临!Welcome to our shop!
- huānyíng lái wǒ jiā.欢迎来我家。Welcome to my home.
Example conversation
Host Lin greets guest Anna at the door of his apartment in Beijing.
- Linhuānyíng, Anna!欢迎, Anna!Welcome, Anna!
- Annaxièxie, nǐ jiā hěn piàoliang.谢谢，你家很漂亮。Thanks, your home is beautiful.
- Linqǐng jìn, zuò ba.请进，坐吧。Please come in and sit down.
