Master Mandarin Chinese Greetings: From Hello to How Are You

Greetings ease communication between people. They can show respect, goodwill, or simply set a nice tone when interacting with someone. Greetings cover a broad category of language, ranging from informal greetings between friends to formal greetings in professional settings. When it comes to learning a language, greetings are some of the most fun things to learn early on because they allow you to interact with a native speaker and bring a smile to their face without having to know much else.

In this short blog, we cover some of the most common greetings in Mandarin Chinese, break them down by category, include audio for all terms, and examples where they can benefit. Let's explore the common greetings in this great language.

Overview

If needed, you can also check out our refresher on Chinese tones.

Hello Greetings 👋👋

Hello - (níhǎo)你好

Literally: you good
Sounds like: "nee how"

This is the most generic greeting in Chinese though that doesn't mean it's not a useful phrase to initiate contact with someone or just spice up a greeting to a Mandarin speaker. However, this is far from the most common way that Mandarin native speakers greet one another. It's seen as slightly formal.

Hello, Hi, Hey (loanwords) - (hālou)哈喽、(hāi)嗨、(hēi)嘿

These are all common brief versions of hello borrowed directly from English. These are very useful since they are easy to remember—being that they're close in sound to their English counterparts—and they're actually used. These are all nice alternatives to the not-so-frequently used but well known (níhǎo)你好.

Hello, Everyone - (dàjiāhǎo)大家好

Literally: everyone good
Sounds like: "da jya how"

Even though the English translation refers to "everyone," this greeting is a common way to greet a group in general, much more so than its English equivalent. You will also see this greeting on vlogs as a way to greet the audience.

"How are you?" Greetings 😊😞

How are you? - (níhǎo)你好(ma)吗？​

Literally: you good + QUESTION PARTICLE
Sounds like: "nee how ma"

This is the most standard way to ask how someone is doing in Mandarin. It simply adds (ma)吗, which is a particle that can be added at the end of a statement to turn it into a question. So, literally you can think of this like "Are you good?"

Have you eaten yet? - (nǐ)你(chī)吃(le)了(ma)吗？​

Literally: you eat + COMPLETED ACTION PARTICLE + QUESTION PARTICLE
Sounds like: "nee chur luh ma"

This is a common colloquial greeting that is literally asking if you have eaten yet. You can also drop the (nǐ)你 at the beginning. It's more common among older generations. When forming a reply, it's normal to answer the question as literally posed, for example:

How have you been lately? - (zuìjìn)最近(ní)你(zěnmeyàng)怎么样？​

Literally: recently you how
Sounds like: "zway jean nee ts-un muh yang"

There are many, many variations of (zěnmeyàng)怎么样 to ask how one is doing or has been. This is just a common one that communicates that more directly.

Time-based Greetings ⏰🌄

On the whole, time-based greetings are not nearly as common as they are in English. Even so, they still get used from time to time, or especially in more formal occasions. All of these follow the format of TIME WORD + (hǎo)好.

Good Morning - (zǎoshanghǎo)早上好

Literally: early morning good
Sounds like: "zow shang how"

You can use this phrase from the early morning until just before noon.

Good Afternoon - (xiàwúhǎo)下午好

Literally: afternoon good
Sounds like: "shah woo how"

You can use this greeting starting at noon and until about 6pm.

Good Evening - (wǎnshànghǎo)晚上好

Literally: evening good
Sounds like: "wan shang how"

This is the appropriate greeting from around 6pm or after sunset.

Other Greetings 🙇🙇‍♀️

Hello? / Yes? (phone) - (wéi)喂

Literally: hey
Sounds like: "way"

This is one of the most common sayings when picking up the phone, whether you know the person or not.

Nice to meet you - (hěn)很(gāoxìng)高兴(jiàndào)见到(nǐ)你

Literally: happy to meet you
Sounds like: "hun gow shing jee-in dow nee"

This is the standard greeting when meeting someone for the first time. It's a phrase that acts as a common courtesy, much as it does in English.

Long time no see - (háojiǔbujiàn)好久不见

Literally: long time no see/meet
Sounds like: "how joe boo jen"

This is actually where the phrase in English comes from! This is a general greeting between people that have gone a long time without seeing each other.

What are you doing? - (gànmá)干嘛(ne)呢

Literally: do?
Sounds like: "gan mah nuh"

Sometimes greetings are rather indirect. Inquiring into what someone else is up to is another way to greet someone. The above is a very casual version of this expression, so it's more suitable between people that are well acquainted with another in an informal setting. This phrase is actually a shortened form of (nǐ)你(zài)在(gànmá)干嘛(ne)呢 .

Some other common phrasings include:

Now we have armed you with some of the core greetings in the Mandarin Chinese language that cover a wide range of situations that you can come across. Though it is fun to be able to greet, this is only one among many steps to building actual proficiency in Chinese. If you're looking for a comprehensive approach for learning Chinese from the basics all the way to fluency, we recommend you check out our Mandarin courses and software. Start your free trial today!