你好: the standard hello
- Characters: 你好 ★. Both characters are the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
- Pinyin: nǐ hǎo. Both syllables are third tone.
- Pronunciation: when two third tones meet, the first one rises, so 你好 is said ní hǎo. Pinyin keeps the written marks (nǐ hǎo); the change happens in speech. See Chinese tones for why.
- When to use it: meeting someone new, greeting a shop assistant or a stranger, answering the phone, or starting a message to someone you don’t know well.
Written, it is often 你好！ with an exclamation mark, or 你好， at the start of an email or chat message.
Polite and group greetings
| Chinese | Pinyin | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 您好 | nín hǎo | Polite: an older person, a customer, a teacher, a boss, a stranger in a formal setting |
| 大家好 | dàjiā hǎo | Hello, everyone: to a class, a meeting, or a video audience |
| 你们好 (你們好) | nǐmen hǎo | Hello, all of you: a small group you are facing |
| 老师好 (老師好) | lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher: students greeting a teacher |
您 ★ (nín) is the respectful form of 你 ★. It is common in service settings and in Beijing, and in emails to people you don’t know. Use it with anyone older or more senior than you, and you will not go wrong.
The pattern [person] + 好 works with titles too: 王老师好 (Wáng lǎoshī hǎo, hello Teacher Wang), 叔叔好 (shūshu hǎo, hello uncle), which is how children greet adults.
Casual greetings between friends
Friends rarely say 你好 to each other; it can sound distant, like saying "good day" to a close friend. Instead they use:
| Chinese | Pinyin | Feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 嗨 | hāi | Hi (borrowed from English) |
| 哈喽 (哈囉) | hālóu | Hello (borrowed from English, playful) |
| 早 | zǎo | Morning! (short for 早上好) |
| 吃了吗？ (吃了嗎？) | chī le ma? | Have you eaten? A traditional friendly greeting, heard more from older people |
| 去哪儿？ (去哪兒？) | qù nǎr? | Where are you off to? Not nosy, just a greeting |
| 最近怎么样？ (最近怎麼樣？) | zuìjìn zěnmeyàng? | How have you been lately? |
Questions like 吃了吗 and 去哪儿 are greetings, not real questions. A short answer such as 吃了 (chī le, I have) or 出去一下 (chūqu yíxià, just heading out) is enough.
Often the greeting is simply the person’s name or title, said warmly: 小王！ (Xiǎo Wáng!) or 妈！ (Mā!).
Why 你好吗 sounds stiff
Textbooks often teach 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?) as "how are you?", but people rarely say it as a greeting. It sounds like a phrasebook, and it can imply you are asking because you think something might be wrong.
More natural ways to ask how someone is are 最近怎么样？ (how have you been lately?) or 最近好吗？ (zuìjìn hǎo ma?, been well lately?) to someone you have not seen for a while. See how are you in Chinese.
Greetings by time of day
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 早上好 | zǎoshang hǎo | Good morning |
| 下午好 | xiàwǔ hǎo | Good afternoon (formal, used in meetings and announcements) |
| 晚上好 | wǎnshang hǎo | Good evening |
| 晚安 | wǎn’ān | Good night, said only before going to sleep |
Only the morning greeting is common in everyday speech. For more, see good morning in Chinese.
Hello on the phone
On the phone, Chinese speakers answer with 喂 ★ (wéi or wèi), a word used only for calls and for getting attention. 喂，你好 (wéi, nǐ hǎo) is the polite version, and businesses often answer with 您好 followed by the company name.
Example sentences
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你好，我叫安娜。 | Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Ānnà. | Hi, my name is Anna. |
| 您好，请问王老师在吗？ | Nín hǎo, qǐngwèn Wáng lǎoshī zài ma? | Hello, is Teacher Wang here? |
| 大家好，欢迎来到中国！ | Dàjiā hǎo, huānyíng láidào Zhōngguó! | Hello everyone, welcome to China! |
| 嗨，好久不见！ | Hāi, hǎojiǔ bú jiàn! | Hi, long time no see! |
| 喂，你好，请问是李先生吗？ | Wéi, nǐ hǎo, qǐngwèn shì Lǐ xiānsheng ma? | Hello, is this Mr. Li? |
| 替我向你妈妈问好。 | Tì wǒ xiàng nǐ māma wènhǎo. | Say hi to your mom for me. |
How to reply
Answer a greeting with the same greeting:
- 你好。 → 你好。
- 您好。 → 您好。 or 你好。 if you are the older or more senior person
- 大家好。 → a class answers 老师好！ (lǎoshī hǎo)
- 好久不见！ (long time no see) → 好久不见！最近怎么样？
- 吃了吗？ → 吃了，你呢？ (I have, and you?)
Common mistakes
- Saying both third tones fully. "nǐ hǎo" with two low, dipping tones sounds robotic. The first becomes rising: ní hǎo.
- Using 你好吗 as hello. It is a question, and a slightly odd one. Just say 你好.
- Saying 你好 to close friends. It is polite but distant. Use their name, 嗨, or a question like 去哪儿.
- Using 你 with someone much older. In a formal situation, or with a teacher or an older stranger, 您 is more respectful.
- Saying 晚安 as hello in the evening. 晚安 means good night before bed. The evening hello is 晚上好, or just 你好.