Day 1: Greetings — Learn Chinese in 30 Days

What You’ll Learn Today

By the end of Day 1, you’ll be able to greet someone in Chinese, introduce yourself, and handle the most basic social moments — all things you could use with a Chinese friend or colleague today.

How to Pronounce 你好 (nǐ hǎo)

The most important word in Mandarin is 你好 (nǐ hǎo) — “hello.” Let’s break it down:

• 你 (nǐ) = “you” — third tone, starts high, dips down, then rises back up
• 好 (hǎo) = “good” — also third tone, but in practice it often softens to a half-third tone when two third-tones appear together

A useful trick: nǐ hǎo sounds a bit like saying “knee how” with a rising inflection on the second syllable. Try it out loud a few times.

Sentence Patterns

Pattern 1: Greeting someone

你好！ — Nǐ hǎo! — Hello!

For a more formal or respectful greeting (to an elder, boss, or teacher), add 您 (nín) instead of 你:

您好。— Nín hǎo. — Hello (respectful).

Pattern 2: Introducing yourself

我叫 [Name]。— Wǒ jiào [Name]. — My name is [Name].

Example: 我叫 Sarah. (Wǒ jiào Sarah.) — “My name is Sarah.”

Pattern 3: Asking someone’s name

你叫什么名字？— Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi? — What’s your name?

Cultural Note

In China, greetings often go beyond “hello.” A very common way to greet someone you know is to ask 你吃了吗？ (Nǐ chī le ma?) — literally “Have you eaten?” This isn’t a real question about your meal — it’s the equivalent of “How are you?” and reflects the cultural importance of food and community in Chinese life.

You don’t need to give a literal answer. A simple 吃了 (chī le — “I have”) or a smile and 你呢？ (nǐ ne — “And you?”) works perfectly.

Practice Exercise

Try to answer these without peeking at the vocab table above:

1. How do you say “hello” in Chinese?
2. How do you say “my name is [your name]”?
3. What’s the difference between 你好 and 您好?
4. If someone says 谢谢 to you, how do you respond?
5. How would you ask someone’s name?

Answers: 1) 你好 2) 我叫___ 3) 您好 is more respectful, used with elders/superiors 4) 不客气 5) 你叫什么名字？