Chinese conversations often start with some form of greeting.
It’s the first thing you say and it can help set the tone of a conversation.
So...
Should you use a casual greeting, or a more formal one? Should it be a question, or a statement?
While this depends on the situation, one thing is clear:
Learning and trying out different greetings can be a useful (and fun) step toward effectively connecting with people in Chinese!
Summary of the greetings from this video lesson
Section 1: Basic Greetings
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | nǐ hǎo！ 你好！ Hello! Notes: “你好(nǐ hǎo)”is a rather formal greeting. It is mainly used to greet strangers or people you don't know well. |
2 | nín hǎo！ 您好！ Hello! (polite form of 你好 nǐ hǎo) |
3 | dà jiā hǎo！ 大家好！ Hi, everyone! |
Section 2: Short and casual
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | hā lóu！ 哈喽！ Hello! |
2 | wéi！ 喂！ Hello! (on the phone) |
3 | hēi！ 嘿！ Hey! |
4 | hāi！ 嗨！ Hi! |
Section 3: Different times of the day
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | zǎo！ 早！ Morning! |
2 | zǎo shàng hǎo！ 早上好！ Good morning! |
3 | zhōng wǔ hǎo！ 中午好！ "Good noon!" |
4 | xià wǔ hǎo！ 下午好！ Good afternoon! |
5 | wǎn shàng hǎo！ 晚上好！ Good evening! |
6 | wǎn ān！ 晚安！ Good night! |
7 | hǎo mèng！ 好梦！ Sweet dreams! |
Section 4: Different types of weather
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | jīn tiān tiān qì bù cuò a！ 今天天气不错啊！ The weather is nice today! |
2 | jīn tiān tiān qì zhēn hǎo！ 今天天气真好！ The weather is really nice today! |
3 | jīn tiān tài rè le. 今天太热了。 It's really hot today! |
4 | jīn tiān hǎo lěng a！ 今天好冷啊！ It's really hot cold! |
5 | jīn tiān fēng hěn dà a! 今天风很大啊！ It's really windy today! |
6 | jīn tiān de yǔ zhēn dà. 今天的雨真大。 It's really raining today! |
7 | jīn tiān de xuě hěn duō a! 今天的雪很多啊! There's lots of snow today! |
Section 5: Situational greetings
A friend you haven't seen for a while
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn！ 好久不见！ Long time no see! |
2 | wǒ hǎo xiǎng nǐ！ 我好想你！ I really miss you! |
3 | zhè me cháng shí jiān bù jiàn. nǐ gàn shá qù le？ 这么长时间不见。你干啥去了？ I haven't seen you for ages. What are you up to? |
4 | qīn ài de， bào yī gè！ 亲爱的，抱一个！ Dear, give me a hug! |
5 | nǐ zuì jìn guò de zěn me yàng？ 你最近过得怎么样？ How have you been lately? Common Responses: fēi cháng hǎo！非常好！I'm really good! hěn hǎo！很好！I'm fine! tǐng hǎo de. 挺好的。I'm pretty good! |
6 | nǐ zuì jìn guò de hǎo ma？ 你最近过得好吗？ How are you doing? Common Responses: bù cuò 不错。Not bad. lǎo yàng zi 老样子。Same old. hái xíng ba 还行吧。It's alright. |
7 | nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng？ 你最近怎么样？ How have you been lately? Common Responses: bù tài hǎo 不太好。Not so good. bù zěn me yàng 不怎么样。Not so good. |
8 | nǐ zuì jìn máng shén me ne？ 你最近忙什么呢？ What have you been up to recently? Common Responses: máng gōng zuò bei 忙工作呗。I have been busy with work. máng xué xí bei 忙学习呗。I have been busy with study. méi máng shén me 没忙什么。Nothing much. |
9 | nǐ zuì jìn biàn de gèng piào liàng le. 你最近变得更漂亮了。 You've become even more beautiful recently. Common Responses: xiè xiè！ tài hǎo le！谢谢！太好了！Thank you! That's great! |
10 | nǐ zuì jìn shòu le 你最近瘦了。 You have lost weight recently. Common Responses: zhēn de ma？ tài hǎo le！真的吗？太好了！Really? That's great! |
11 | nǐ de shēn cái yuè lái yuè hǎo le. 你的身材越来越好了。 You are getting fitter and fitter. Common Responses: xiè xiè nǐ de kuā zàn！谢谢你的夸赞！Thank you for your compliments! |
An older friend or relative you haven’t seen for a while:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | nǐ zuì jìn shēn tǐ zěn me yàng？ 你最近身体怎么样？ How have you been recently? ("How has your body/health been recently?") Common Responses: hěn hǎo a 很好啊！I'm good! tǐng hǎo de 挺好的。I'm pretty good! |
2 | nǐ zuì jìn shēn tǐ hǎo ma？ 你最近身体好吗？ How have you been doing lately? ("How has your body/health been recently?") Common Responses: hái bù cuò 还不错。Not bad! hěn jiàn kāng 很健康。I'm really healthy. |
Someone who looks unhappy or uncomfortable:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | nǐ zěn me le？ 你怎么了？ How are you? (What's happened to you?) Common Responses: yǒu diǎn lèi 有点累。I'm a bit tired. wǒ lā dù zi le 我拉肚子了。I have diarrhea. |
2 | nǐ hái hǎo ba？ 你还好吧？ Are you alright? Common Responses: yǒu diǎn kùn 有点困。I'm a bit sleepy. |
3 | nǐ méi shì ba？ 你没事吧？ Are you okay? Common Responses: méi shì 没事。I'm okay. |
4 | chū shén me shì le？ 出什么事了？ What happened? Common Responses: wǒ hé wǒ nán péng yǒu chǎo jià le 我和我男朋友吵架了。I had a fight with my boyfriend. |
5 | nǐ bù shū fú ma？ 你不舒服吗？ Are you feeling unwell? Common Responses: wǒ gǎn mào le 我感冒了。 I have a cold. |
6 | nǐ shēng bìng le ma？ 你生病了吗？ Are you sick? Common Responses: wǒ fā shāo le 我发烧了。 I have a fever. |
Someone who looks happy or pleased:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | nǐ kàn qǐ lái hěn kāi xīn a！ 你看起来很开心啊！ You look so happy! Common Responses: wǒ shēng zhí le 我升职了。I got promoted. |
2 | nǐ kàn qǐ lái hěn xìng fèn a！ 你看起来很兴奋啊！ You look so excited! Common Responses: wǒ jiā xīn le 我加薪了。I got a raise. |
3 | nǐ kàn qǐ xīn qíng bù cuò ō！ 你看起心情不错喔！ You seem to be in a good mood! Common Responses: wǒ jiā gōng zī le 我加工资了。I got a raise. |
4 | yǒu shén me hǎo xiāo xī ma？ 有什么好消息吗？ Is there any good news? Common Responses: wǒ nán péng yǒu xiàng wǒ qiú hūn le 我男朋友向我求婚了。My boyfriend proposed to me. |
5 | yǒu shén me xǐ shì a？ 有什么喜事啊？ Is there any good news? Common Responses: wǒ huái yùn le 我怀孕了。I'm pregnant. |
6 | yǒu shén me hǎo shì a？ 有什么好事啊？ Is there any good news? Common Responses: wǒ zhòng cǎi piào le 我中彩票了。I won the lottery. |
A friend you just run into:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | ō！ yòu jiàn dào nǐ le. 噢！又见到你了。 Oh! Good to see you again. |
2 | hǎo qiǎo a！ 好巧啊！ What a coincidence! Common Responses: shì a！ hǎo qiǎo a！ 是啊！好巧啊！Yup! What a coincidence! |
3 | nǐ qù nǎr a？ 你去哪儿啊？ Where are you going? Common Responses: wǒ qù jiàn shēn fáng 我去健身房。I'm going to the gym. wǒ qù chāo shì 我去超市。I'm going to the supermarket. |
4 | nǐ qù nǎ lǐ a？ 你去哪里啊？ Where are you going? Common Responses: wǒ qù xué xiào 我去学校。I'm going to school. |
5 | nǐ gàn má qù a？ 你干嘛去啊？ What are you doing? Common Responses: wǒ yuē le péng yǒu kàn diàn yǐng 我约了朋友看电影。I'm going to watch a movie with my friend. |
A Typical Chinese Greeting:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | chī le ma？ 吃了吗？ Have you eaten? Common Responses: wǒ chī le，nǐ ne? 我吃了，你呢？ Yes, I haven't eaten. And you? |
2 | nǐ chī guò le ma？ 你吃过了吗？ Have you eaten? Common Responses: wǒ chī guò le，nǐ ne? 我吃过了，你呢？Yes, I haven't eaten. And you? |
3 | nín chī le ma？ 您吃了吗？ Have you eaten? Common Responses: wǒ chī le，nǐ ne? 我吃了，你呢？ Yes, I have eaten. And you? |
4 | chī fàn le ma？ 吃饭了吗？ Have you eaten? Common Responses: èn 嗯！Yes! duì 对！Yes! |
In your neighborhood:
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | huí lái la？ 回来啦？ You're back? Common Responses: èn, wǒ huí lái le. 嗯, 我回来了。 Yes, I'm back. |
2 | chū qù a？ 出去啊？ Going out? Common Responses: shì a！wǒ chū qù jiàn péng yǒu. 是啊！我出去见朋友。Yes, I'm going to see a friend. |
3 | shàng bān qù a？ 上班去啊？ Going to work? Common Responses: duì！wǒ shàng bān qù le 对！我上班去了。Yes, I'm going to work. |
On Social Media
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | qīn， zài ma？ 亲，在吗？ Darling, are you there? Common Responses: zài 在。Yes, I'm here. zài de 在的。Yes, I'm here. qīn，yǒu shén me kě yǐ bāng dào nín？亲，有什么可以帮到您？Darling, how can I help you? |
At different locations/events (shops, restaurants, classrooms)
No. | Chinese Greetings |
|---|---|
1 | huān yíng guāng lín! 欢迎光临! Welcome! Common Responses: nǐ hǎo 你好！Hello! |
2 | huān yíng dà jiā! 欢迎大家! Welcome everyone! Common Responses: nǐ hǎo 你好！Hello! |
3 | huān yíng lái dào wǒ men de zhōng wén kè! 欢迎来到我们的中文课! Welcome to our Chinese class! Common Responses: lǎo shī hǎo 老师好！Hello, teacher! |
4 | huān yíng lái dào wǒ men de yú jiā kè! 欢迎来到我们的瑜伽课! Welcome to our yoga class! Common Responses: lǎo shī hǎo 老师好！Hello, teacher! jiào liàn hǎo 教练好！Hello, coach! |
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