Chinese (Mandarin)/Greetings

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.

Hello

• 你好。 nǐ hǎo; The standard "hello" greeting. Literally means "you good."
• 您好。 nín hǎo; The same "hello" greeting as above, except that 您 (nín), like in many European languages, is the polite form of "you", used when addressing elders, or teachers etc.
• 你好吗？　你好嗎？ nǐ hǎo ma?; More often used following a greeting than not, however, this can be used as a "How are you?.
• 您好吗？　您好嗎？ nín hǎo ma?; The same as the "nǐ hǎo ma?" above, again, except that this is used as a more polite form.
• 你怎么样？你怎麼樣？ nǐ zěnmeyàng?; "What's up?", "How are you doing?"
• 幸会　幸會 xìnghuì! "Nice to meet you!" Used for the first meeting.
• 久仰 jiǔyǎng; An extremely polite greeting that is not commonly used between friends, but rather between professionals meeting for the first time.
• 久闻大名　久聞大名 jiǔwéndàmíng; This greeting should be reserved for use towards those whom you have extreme respect for, and is used for the first meeting. Literal translation: "Your name is famous" / "I have heard much about you".
• 久仰大名 jiǔyǎngdàmíng; The same as above one.

Good morning

• 早 zǎo; Also good morning.
• 早安 zǎo'ān; Seldom used in the Mainland.
• 早上好 zǎoshàng hǎo.

Good afternoon

• 午安 wǔ'ān; note: seldom used in the Mainland. Mostly used in the Republic of China and the rest of the Chinese speaking world.
• 下午好 xìawǔ hǎo! Seldom used in the Republic of China and in the Chinese speaking world.

Good evening / Good night

• 晚安 wǎn'an; Literally "Peace at night", Good night.
• 晚上好 wǎnshang hǎo; Good evening!

Good-bye

• 再见　再見 zàijian; Literally "See you again".
• 明天见　明天見 míngtian jiàn; Literally "See you tomorrow".
• 拜拜 bāibāi/báibái; From English "Bye-Bye". Widely used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and most urbanised parts of mainland China. 掰掰 (báibái) is the variant character form that is gaining popularity in ROC.
• 回头见　回頭見 huítóujiàn: roughly equivalent to "see you soon", used in northern China.
• 再会 再會 zàihuì: Literally "[we'll] hello again". Usually used in Shanghai or other parts of China, and sometimes used at the end of TV programs.

Chinese New Year Greetings

• Xīnnián kuàilè 新年快乐　新年快樂 Happy New Year
• gōngxǐ fācái 恭喜发财　恭喜發財 gongxi facai