How to Say "hello" in Chinese

How to Pronounce 你好

你好 breaks into two syllables:

• 你 (nǐ) — 3rd tone: start at mid pitch, dip down, then rise back up
• 好 (hǎo) — also 3rd tone, but when two 3rd-tone syllables appear together, the first one changes to a 2nd tone (rising). So in practice you say ní hǎo, not nǐ hǎo.

A rough English approximation: say “knee how” with a rising-then-falling melody — the “knee” goes up and “how” swoops down.

When to Use 你好

你好 is the all-purpose everyday greeting. Use it:

• When meeting someone for the first time
• When entering a shop, hotel, or restaurant
• When answering the phone (though 喂 wéi is more common on calls)
• When greeting a stranger you need to approach

Time of day? Doesn’t matter. Unlike English’s morning/afternoon/evening, 你好 works any time.

Formal Alternative: 您好

If you’re greeting an elder, a senior colleague, your boss, or anyone you want to show extra respect to, use 您好 (nín hǎo). The character 您 is the polite/formal form of 你 (you).

您好！很高兴认识您。— Nín hǎo! Hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nín. “Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Group Greetings: 你们好

To greet a group of people at once:

你们好！ (Nǐ men hǎo!) — “Hello everyone!”

Examples in Sentences

1. 你好，请问洗手间在哪里？ — Nǐ hǎo, qǐng wèn xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎ lǐ? — “Hello, excuse me — where is the bathroom?”
2. 您好，我叫 Sarah。 — Nín hǎo, wǒ jiào Sarah. — “Hello, my name is Sarah.”
3. 你好！好久不见！ — Nǐ hǎo! Hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn! — “Hey! Long time no see!”

Variations & Related Phrases

• 嗨 (hāi) — casual “hi,” borrowed from English, used among young people
• 哈喽 (hā lóu) — casual “hello,” also an English loanword
• 喂 (wèi) — used specifically when answering the phone
• 早 (zǎo) — casual “morning!” (short for 早上好)

Cultural Context

In China, you might also greet someone with 你吃了吗？ (Nǐ chī le ma? — “Have you eaten?”) — a traditional way of showing you care about someone’s wellbeing. It’s not a literal question; respond with 吃了 (chī le — “I have”) and move on.

Also worth knowing: Chinese people rarely wave when greeting. A slight nod or a smile is the standard accompaniment to 你好, especially with strangers. Bowing is not common in China (that’s more Japanese/Korean). Handshakes are standard in business settings.

Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting the tone change — nǐ hǎo becomes ní hǎo in natural speech. Don’t over-correct by making both syllables 3rd tone.
2. Using 你好 on the phone — Chinese people say 喂 (wèi) when picking up a call, not 你好.
3. Treating it as time-specific — 你好 works all day; you don’t need to switch to “good morning” or “good evening.”

Practice

Say this out loud three times: 你好，我叫 [your name]！ (Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào [your name]!)