Chinese (Mandarin)/Greetings

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Chinese, like all languages, has its own set of unique greetings which may be seemingly
strange to learners of the language (this is particularly true if the two cultures are vastly
different). Below, you will find commonly-used Mandarin greetings and farewells, along
with corresponding pinyin pronunciations.

Contents
[hide]

1 Hello

2 Good morning

3 Good afternoon

4 Good evening / Good night

5 Good-bye

6 Chinese New Year Greetings

Hello[edit]

N ho; The standard "hello" greeting. Literally means "you good."

Nn ho; The same "hello" greeting as above, except that (nn), like in
many European languages, is the polite form of "you", used when addressing elders,
or teachers etc.

? N ho ma?; More often used following a greeting than not, however, this
can be used as a "hello" by itself.

? Nn ho ma?; The same as the "N ho ma?" above, again, except that
this is used as a more polite form.

? N znmeyng?; "What's up?", "How are you doing?"

Xnghu! "Nice to meet you!"

 Jiyng; An extremely polite greeting that is not commonly used between
friends, but rather between professionals meeting for the first time.

Jiwndmng; This greeting should be reserved for use towards those

whom you have extreme respect for. Literal translation: "Your name is famous" / "I
have heard much about you"

Good morning[edit]

Zoshng ho; Standard morning greeting. Literally means "

zoshang" (morning), " ho" (good).

Zo; Also good morning.

Zo'n; Literally "Peace at morning".

Good afternoon[edit]

Xaw ho! Seldom used in the Republic of China.

W'n; note: seldom used in the Mainland. Most used in the Republic of
China.

Good evening / Good night[edit]

Wnshang ho; Good evening!

Wn'n; Literally "Peace at night", Good night.

Good-bye[edit]

Zijin; Literally "See you again".

Mngtin jin; Literally "See you tomorrow".

Bibi/bibi/bibai; From English "Bye-Bye". Widely used in Hong Kong,

Taiwan (ROC) and most urbanised parts of mainland China.
(Bibi/bibi/bibai) is the variant character form that is gaining popularity in
ROC.

Hutu jin: roughly equivalent to "see you soon", used in northern China.
 Hujin; usually used in Beijing or written Chinese.

Zihu: Literally "[we'll] hello again". Usually used in Shanghai or other part
of China, and sometimes used at the end of TV programs.

Chinese New Year Greetings[edit]

Xnninkuil Happy New Year

Gngxfci Gongxifacai

GREETINGS
Hello! N ho!
Good morning! Zon!
Good day! N ho!
Good evening! Wnshang ho!
How are you? N ho ma?
Fine, thanks. Ho, xixie.
I'm very well, thanks. W hn ho, xixie.
So-so. Hi ky.
What's your name? Qngwn n jio shnme mngzi?
My name is W jio
It's nice to meet you. W hn goxng rnshi n.
Goodbye. Zijin.
See you soon. Zi hu.
Goodnight. Wnn.
Where do you live? N zh zi n er?
I live in Beijing. W zh zi Bijng.
This is my friend. Zh sh wde pngyou.
This is my boyfriend. Zh sh wde nnpngyou.
This is my girlfriend. Zh sh wde npngyou.
This is my husband. Zh sh wde zhngfu.
This is my wife. Zh sh wde titai.
Please visit me (here). Qng do w zhl li kn kan.
I really had a wonderful time. W zhn sh ti goxng le.

01 - Greetings
Chinese Online Phrase Book
Helpful Chinese Expressions: Greetings
Chinese Online Phrase Book
02 - In the Classroom

1. Hello/Hi!

ho

2. Good morning / afternoon / evening!

zo

chn

xi

/
wn

shng

ho


3. I'm John Smith.

sh

yu

hn

sh

.
4. Are you Peter King?

sh

b

jn

ma

?
5. Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.

sh

sh

/
 b

sh

6. How are you?

ho

7. Fine, thanks. And you?

hn

ho


xi

xi

ne

8. I'm fine, too.

hn

ho

9. How is Amy / your wife / your husband?
i

ho

ma

/
n

ho

ma

/
 n

zhng

ho

ma

?
10. She is very well, thank you.

hn

ho

xi

xi


11. Good night, Jane.

wn

jin

12. Good-bye, Mike.

zi

jin

mi

13. See you tomorrow.

mng

 tin

jin

14. See you later.

di

hu

jin

15. I have to go now.

zu

 le

Chinese Greetings and Good-Byes

By Mengjun Liu and Mike Packevicz from Chinese For Dummies Audio Set

3 of 10 in Series: The Essentials of Chinese Words and Phrases for Traveling

When you're traveling in Chinese-speaking locations, you'll find that the words and phrases you use
most frequently will be the common Chinese greetings. These words and phrases will quickly become
second nature to you because you'll use them day in and day out with everyone you come across.

As you'd expect, you should use a polite greeting when you run into someone you know or want to
know. However, in Chinese-speaking countries, greetings are given a much greater importance than
they are in America.

Saying hello

The most common ways to greet someone in Chinese-speaking countries are:

n ho! (Hello/Hi!)

zoshng ho; n zo; zo (Good morning.)

These three ways to say "good morning" aren't actually very different, but they go somewhat in
order of formality, from more formal to less formal.

xiw ho (Good afternoon.)

wnshng ho (Good evening.)

In China, the standard greeting is usually accompanied by a hand shake. However, unlike the firm, quick
American handshake, the Chinese tend to shake hands lightly and for hold the handshake longer: even
as long as ten seconds.

Although the handshake is more common, some people prefer a bow. If you are unsure what to do, wait
for your Chinese counterpart to make the first move. Then, just duplicate their greeting.

How are you? How's it going? How many times a day do we hear or say these brief greetings at the
beginning of our conversations? So many times, in fact, that half the time, we don't even pay attention.
These pleasantries are common in Chinese-speaking countries as well. The Chinese phrase equivalent
to "How are you?" is n homa? Other common ways to ask how someone is doing are:

n znmeyng? (How is it going?)

 zujn znmeyng? (How's it going lately?)

zujn homa? (How are you lately?)

Responding to "How are you?"

As you'd expect, when someone asks you how you're doing, there are many possible responses.

w hnho, xixie. (I'm doing great, thank you.)

w btiho. (I'm not doing well.)

In Chinese, as in English, you would only tell people you know reasonably well that you aren't well.

mmhh. (So-so.)

This phrase actually translates as "Horse horse tiger tiger." If you use this with your Chinese
friends, they'll be very impressed!

hixng. (I'm okay.)

tnghode. (I'm fine.)

Saying good-bye

There are also many ways to say goodbye.

zijin. (Goodbye.)

mngtin jin. (See you tomorrow.)

hutu jin. (See you soon.)

zh n hoyn! (Good luck!)

xige xngqjin. (See you next week.)

gitin zilio. (Talk to you soon.)

mnzu. (Take care.)

Although mnzu generally means "walk carefully" in Chinese, you also can
saymnzu or bozhng in Chinese for "take care" in English. Moreover, bozhng is a little
more formal and serious than mnzu.

Have a look at how these greetings words work in an actual conversation.

Bill: n ho! (Hello!)

Jin: n zo. zujn znmeyng? (Good Morning. How is it going lately?)

Bill: hixng. n ne? (I'm okay. And you?)

Jin: w y bcu. (The same.)

Bill: zijin. (Goodbye.)

Jin: mnzu. (Take care.)

Many western countries accept hugs and kisses as a popular form of greeting
although a handshake is still the formal way of greeting people. In China, a
handshake or a simple and kind salutation is common.
Form of Address:

A form of address is to some extent a reflection of social climate. In China,

various forms of address are used according to circumstances. Choosing the
appropriate and correct form shows your wit and high respect to others.
Generally, for Chinese people it should be in accord with convention and care
much about the personal favor of the people being addressed. There are four
main categories:

Job Title: You can call someone directly by his job title or put it before his
surname or full name. This is often used in the workplace and on more formal
occasions:

Chinese Pinyin Chinese The same meaning in English

Hu Zhu Xi President Hu
Zhang Jing Li Manager Zhang
Liu Zhu Ren Director Liu

To address based on professional qualifications, which expresses respect to

those being addressed:

Pinyin Chinese The same meaning in English

Li Jiao Shou Professor Li
Wang Lu Shi Lawyer Wang
Zhao Gong Cheng Shi Engineer Zhao

An address based on educational qualifications is helpful to emphasize the

academic authority of the people being addressed:

Pinyin Chinese The same meaning in English

Yang Bo Shi Dr. Yang
Gao Shuo Shi Master Gao
Ma Xue Shi Bachelor Ma
To address based on professions:

Pinyin Chinese The same meaning in English

Wang Lao Shi Teacher Wang
Zhang Yi Sheng Docotor Zhang
Liu Jing Guan Officer Liu

Generally, you can call others by their family name or full name by putting the
Mr. or Ms. in front. This is the general address most widely used in company,
hotels, stores, restaurants, karaoke, bars and other places.

You can use a person's full name or family name when addressing
acquaintances, good friends and colleagues, or only the surname proceeded
by an informal title which indicates his age:

Pinyin Chinese Meaning in English Note

Lao Li Elder Li A person older than yourself
Xiao Wang Younger Wang A person younger than yourself
Phatic Communion
A smile, good eye contact and politeness are expressions of sincerity. These
are the beginning of communication. Just like westerners, the Chinese usually
pass the time of day with one another as a precursor to getting to the point of
a conversation or presentation.

Different conditions require different styles in which conversational greetings

may be exchanged. When you meet someone for the first time, the most
commonly-used words are:

Chinese Pinyin Chinese The same meaning in English

Ni Hao Hello/Hi
Hen Gao Xing Ren Shi Ni Glad to see you. / Nice to meet you.
Xing Hui (more formal ) How do you do?

For greeting acquaintances, the words will be more informal and friendly like
the following:

Pinyin Chinese Meaning in English

Hao Jiu Bu Jian Long time no see!
Ni Qi Se Bu Cuo You look very well today!
Chi Le Ma Have you had your meal?
Mang Shen Me Ne What are you busying doing these days?
Zui Jin Ru He How are you doing recently?
Shen Ti Zen Me Yang How are you feeling? / How are you?
Jia Ren Dou Hao Ba How is your family?
Qu Na'er Where are you going?
Shang Ban Qu Ma You are going to work?
Jin Tian Feng Hen Da The wind is so strong today.
Ni Nu Er Zhen Ke Ai Your daughter is so lovely!

This phatic communion is a salutation without expectation of a response, the

question being rhetorical. However, it should be compact, friendly and
respectful. It is improper to ask about the personal affairs of other people, for
delving into another's privacy is considered to be discourteous. Remember
always to be active, passionate, natural and attentive when greeting others.