- 你好 (nǐhǎo) is the most famous way to say “hi” in Chinese, but it is not always the most natural choice.
- Different Chinese greetings are used for different situations, including formal introductions, phone calls, group settings, and casual chats.
- Time-based greetings like 早 (zǎo), 下午好 (xiàwǔhǎo), and 晚上好 (wǎnshànghǎo) are useful in daily life.
- Informal greetings like 嗨 (hāi), 嘿 (hēi), and 哈喽 (hālóu) are common among younger speakers.
- Learning the right greeting for the right context will make your Mandarin sound more natural and culturally appropriate.
One of the first things students learn when studying Chinese is how to greet people. In most beginner classes, students are taught that “hi” in Chinese is 你好 (nǐhǎo).
But 你好 is only one of many Chinese greetings. In many everyday situations, it is not even the most common or natural option.
This guide introduces 12 common ways to say “hi” in Chinese, with pronunciation audio, pinyin, meanings, and usage notes. If your goal is to Learn Chinese in China, mastering greetings is one of the best first steps toward real conversation.
As you build your foundation, it also helps to understand pinyin, tones, and basic pronunciation. These tools make it much easier to hear and reproduce natural Chinese greetings.
01 12 common ways to say “hi” in Chinese
Chinese greetings vary depending on the person, setting, time of day, and level of formality. Some greetings are polite and formal, while others are casual, playful, or limited to phone conversations.
The following table gives a quick overview before we look at each greeting in more detail.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | Nǐhǎo | Hello | General or slightly formal greetings |
| 您好 | Nínhǎo | Hello; polite hello | Elders, teachers, superiors, formal situations |
| 大家好 | Dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody | Groups, classes, presentations |
| 老师好 | Lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher | Greeting teachers respectfully |
| 下午好 | Xiàwǔhǎo | Good afternoon | Afternoon greetings |
| 晚上好 | Wǎnshànghǎo | Good evening | Evening greetings |
| 早 | Zǎo | Morning; good morning | Informal morning greetings |
| 喂 | Wéi | Hello; on the phone | Answering phone calls |
| 你吃了吗 | Nǐ chī le ma? | Have you eaten? | Traditional, familiar, often older speakers |
| 嗨 | Hāi | Hi | Casual, young speakers, online chats |
| 嘿 | Hēi | Hey | Informal, friendly, online or in person |
| 哈喽 | Hālóu | Hello | Casual, playful, younger speakers |
02 Formal and general Chinese greetings
1. 你好 | Nǐhǎo | Hello
你好, written nǐhǎo in pinyin, is the greeting most commonly taught in beginner Chinese textbooks. It is made from the characters 你 (nǐ), meaning “you,” and 好 (hǎo), meaning “good.”
Literally, 你好 means “you good,” but its natural meaning is “hello.” If you are a beginner, you can use 你好 safely in many situations.
That said, 你好 is somewhat formal. Native speakers do not usually use it with close friends.
The most common situation for 你好 is when meeting someone new. It can also appear in written messages, customer-service interactions, or slightly formal exchanges.
2. 您好 | Nínhǎo | Hello, polite
您好 (nínhǎo) is the polite form of “hello” in Chinese. It uses 您 (nín), the respectful form of “you.”
A helpful way to remember 您 is that it contains 心 (xīn), the character for “heart,” underneath 你. This can help you remember that 您好 sounds more respectful and sincere.
Use 您好 when greeting someone older than you, a teacher, a superior, or someone you want to treat with extra respect. It is also common in formal writing and polite customer-service contexts.
3. 大家好 | Dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody
If you want to greet a group of people, use 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo). 大家 means “everyone” or “everybody,” so the phrase literally means “everyone good.”
More naturally, 大家好 means “hello everybody.” It is useful for classes, speeches, videos, group chats, and presentations.
Many Chinese greetings can be created by adding 好 after the person or group you are addressing. This same pattern appears in 老师好, which means “hello, teacher.”
4. 老师好 | Lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher
If you are studying Chinese, you will often greet your teacher by saying 老师好 (lǎoshī hǎo). Literally, this means “teacher good,” but its natural meaning is “hello, teacher.”
This greeting follows the same pattern as 你好 and 大家好. You name the person or group first, then add 好.
In China, teachers are commonly addressed as 老师 (lǎoshī), even outside the classroom. People may also call respected experts or mentors 老师 as a sign of admiration.
This reflects the importance of education in Chinese culture. To explore more learning-related language, see CLI’s guide to Chinese proverbs about learning.
03 Time-based Chinese greetings
5. 下午好 | Xiàwǔhǎo | Good afternoon
Another common greeting pattern is to use the time of day followed by 好. For example, 下午 means “afternoon,” so 下午好 means “good afternoon.”
This greeting is clear and polite. It is useful in schools, offices, customer-service interactions, and slightly formal daily situations.
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6. 晚上好 | Wǎnshànghǎo | Good evening
If you meet someone in the evening, you can say 晚上好 (wǎnshànghǎo). 晚上 means “evening” or “night,” and 好 means “good.”
Be careful not to confuse 晚上好 with “good night.” In Chinese, 晚上好 is a greeting, not a goodbye.
To say “good night” before going to sleep or ending the evening, use 晚安 (wǎn’ān). This difference is important for sounding natural.
7. 早 | Zǎo | Good morning, informal
To greet someone in the morning, you can say 早上好 (zǎoshànghǎo), meaning “good morning.” You can also shorten this to 早 (zǎo), which is a casual way to say “morning.”
The shorter 早 is similar to saying “mornin’” in English. It works well with friends, classmates, coworkers, and people you already know.
This shortening pattern does not work with all time-based greetings. You should not shorten 下午好 to 下 or 晚上好 to 晚.
Use 早上好 in more formal situations, especially with older people, superiors, or people you have just met. Use 早 when the tone is relaxed and familiar.
04 Chinese greetings for specific situations
8. 喂 | Wéi | Hello, on the phone
喂 (wéi) is the standard greeting used when answering the phone in Chinese. It is not normally used as a regular face-to-face greeting.
In English, people often answer the phone with “hello.” In China, answering with only 你好 can sound less natural than saying 喂.
If you want to sound more polite, you can say 喂，你好 (wéi, nǐhǎo). This is more natural than answering the phone with 你好 alone.
Some dictionaries list 喂 with both rising tone wéi and falling tone wèi. When answering the phone, it is usually pronounced with the rising second tone.
9. 你吃了吗 | Nǐ chī le ma? | Have you eaten?
Beginning students sometimes learn that 你吃了吗 (nǐ chī le ma?) is a common Chinese greeting. It literally means “Have you eaten?”
This greeting is less common among young people today. It is more likely to be heard from older speakers, especially in smaller towns, rural areas, or traditional family settings.
Although it sounds like a real question, 你吃了吗 often functions as a polite greeting rather than an invitation to eat. It is similar to how “How’s it going?” does not always require a detailed answer.
A simple reply is 吃了，你呢? (chī le, nǐ ne?), meaning “I’ve eaten, and you?” This avoids putting the other person in the awkward position of needing to invite you to eat.
This greeting is not normally used when meeting someone for the first time. It is usually used between people who already know each other.
05 Informal Chinese greetings
10. 嗨 | Hāi | Hi
嗨 (hāi) is an informal greeting used by many young people in urban areas. It is a loanword from English and sounds like “hi.”
You will often hear 嗨 among friends or people around the same age. It is also common in written messages on social media and apps like WeChat.
11. 嘿 | Hēi | Hey
嘿 (hēi) is another informal greeting borrowed from English. It is modeled on the sound and meaning of “hey.”
Like 嗨, 嘿 is casual and often used among young people. It can appear in spoken conversation, online messages, and social media comments.
12. 哈喽 | Hālóu | Hello
哈喽 (hālóu) is another loanword from English. It is modeled on the sound of “hello” and is sometimes also written as 哈啰.
This greeting sounds informal, friendly, and slightly playful. It is most common among younger speakers, especially in casual conversation or online communication.
06 Chinese vocabulary: how to say hi in Chinese
The following vocabulary table brings the main greetings together with pronunciation, meaning, and usage notes. Use the audio links to practice each phrase out loud.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Usage note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐhǎo | Hello | General, slightly formal greeting |
| 您好 | nínhǎo | Hello; polite hello | Formal or respectful greeting |
| 大家好 | dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody | Greeting a group |
| 老师好 | lǎoshī hǎo | Hello, teacher | Greeting a teacher respectfully |
| 下午好 | xiàwǔhǎo | Good afternoon | Afternoon greeting |
| 晚上好 | wǎnshànghǎo | Good evening | Evening greeting, not “good night” |
| 早 | zǎo | Morning; good morning | Informal morning greeting |
| 喂 | wéi | Hello; phone greeting | Used when answering the phone |
| 你吃了吗 | nǐ chī le ma? | Have you eaten? | Traditional greeting, usually familiar context |
| 嗨 | hāi | Hi | Informal, especially among younger speakers |
| 嘿 | hēi | Hey | Informal, friendly, casual |
| 哈喽 | hālóu | Hello | Casual and playful |
07 Bringing it all together
The best Chinese greeting depends on context. Use 您好 for respectful situations, 大家好 for groups, 喂 on the phone, and greetings like 嗨 or 嘿 with friends.
Watch the video below to review several Chinese greetings and hear more examples. Practicing pronunciation out loud will help these expressions feel natural in real conversation.
After greeting someone new, you will also need to know how to introduce yourself. CLI’s guide to saying your name in Chinese can help you continue the conversation naturally.
If you want a culturally appropriate Chinese name, it is best to work with a teacher or native speaker. You can also read CLI’s guide to Chinese names to understand naming structure, meaning, and etiquette.
When meeting new people, politeness matters as much as vocabulary. For more everyday language, explore CLI’s guides to saying yes in Chinese, saying no in Chinese, and using sorry in Chinese.
You can also continue building your foundation with the 100 most common Chinese characters. The more basic words and greetings you know, the more confident you will feel in real Chinese conversations.
08 FAQ
What is the most common way to say hi in Chinese?
The most widely taught greeting is 你好 (nǐhǎo), meaning “hello.” In casual daily life, however, native speakers often use more context-specific greetings.
Is 你好 formal or informal?
你好 is somewhat formal and is often used when meeting someone new. It is not usually the most natural greeting among close friends.
How do you say hello politely in Chinese?
The polite form of hello is 您好 (nínhǎo). Use it with elders, teachers, superiors, customers, or people you want to treat with extra respect.
How do Chinese people answer the phone?
Chinese speakers usually answer the phone with 喂 (wéi). A more polite version is 喂，你好 (wéi, nǐhǎo).
Does 你吃了吗 mean hello?
你吃了吗 (nǐ chī le ma?) literally means “Have you eaten?” It can function as a traditional greeting, but it is less common among younger speakers today.
09 Final thoughts
There is no single perfect way to say “hi” in Chinese. The best greeting depends on who you are speaking to, where you are, and how formal the situation feels.
Start with 你好, but do not stop there. Learning greetings like 您好, 大家好, 老师好, 喂, 嗨, and 早 will help your Chinese sound much more natural.