Greetings & Polite Expressions
Learn “Greetings & Polite Expressions” using the videos below by fellow YouTubers. If you want to explore more from these creators, there are links to their respective channels below the videos. This page has 3 sections, here are jump links:
- Videos
- Chart w/ Audio: Greetings Vocabulary
- Chart w/ Audio: Native Greetings Chart
Help improve this page by sharing your links! 谢谢你！
Videos
Everyday Chinese – Nice to Meet You (Story)
Everyday Chinese – How are you?
General Greetings
Chinese Characters or English can be placed in the search boxes above the tables.
| AUDIO | ENGLISH | PINYIN | SIMPLIFIED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello. | nǐ hǎo | 你好 |
|
| Hello. (formal) | nín hǎo | 您好 |
|
| Hello? (on phone) | wèi | 喂 |
|
| Good morning. | zǎo shàng hǎo | 早上好 |
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| Good afternoon. | xiàwŭ hăo | 下午好 |
|
| Good evening. | wănshàng hăo | 晚上好 |
|
| Good night. | wǎn ān | 晚安 |
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| Goodbye. | zài jiàn | 再见 (再見) |
|
| See you soon. | huítóu jiàn | 回头见 |
|
| See you next week. | xiàge xīngqījiàn | 下个星期见 |
|
| Talk to you later. | găitiān zàiliáo | 改天再聊 |
|
| Take care. | mànzŏu | 慢走 |
|
| Thank you. | xiè xie | 谢谢 (謝謝) |
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| You're welcome. | bú kè qi | 不客气 (不客氣) |
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| Sorry. | duì bu qǐ | 对不起 (對不起) |
|
| It’s alright. | méi ɡuān xi | 没关系 (沒關系) |
|
| How are you? / How's it going? | nĭ zĕnmeyàng? | 你怎么样 |
|
| How are things? / How's it going lately? | zuìjìn zĕnmeyàng? | 最近怎么样 |
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| How's it going? / How are you lately? | zuìjìn hăoma? | 最近好吗 |
|
| I'm good. | wǒ hěn hǎo | 我很好 |
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| I‘m fine, thank you. | wŏ hĕnhăo, xièxie | 我很好谢谢 |
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| I am not so good. | wŏ bútàihăo | 我不太好 |
|
| So so. | mămăhūhū | 马马虎虎 |
|
| I'm okay. | háixíng | 还行 |
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| I'm fine. / Pretty good. | tĭnghăode | 挺好的 |
|
| The same. (response when someone says "I'm okay and you?") | wŏ yĕ búcuò | 我也不错 |
Native Greetings
Find out why you shouldn’t be saying 你好 in our blog post here. Also, check out the related lesson “Introducing Yourself & Your Nationality,” for more videos and our extensive list of countries in Chinese.
| AUDIO | ENGLISH | PINYIN | CHINESE Simplified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello, Ashley. | Ashley hǎo | Ashley 好 | |
| Hello, Teacher | lǎoshī hǎo | 老师好 | |
| Good morning. | zǎo | 早 | |
| Good morning, everyone. | zǎo dàjiā hǎo | 早大家好 | |
| Are you full? | chī bǎole méi？ | 吃飽了沒？ | |
| Have you eaten？ | chīle méi？ | 吃了沒？ | |
| How's it going? | zuì jìn hào mǎ | 最近好吗 | |
| What are you doing here? | nǐ zěnme zài zhè'er? | 你怎么在这儿? | |
| Why are you here? | nǐ zěnme zài zhèlǐ? | 你怎么在这里? | |
| Where are you going? (use when you run into someone) | qù nǎ er? | 去哪儿? | |
| You're dressed so beautifully, where are you going? | chuān nàme piàoliang yào qù nǎlǐ? | 穿那么漂亮要去哪里? | |
| Got off work. (example of stating the obvious) | xiàbānle | 下班了 | |
| Children are out of school (example of stating the obvious) | xiǎohái fàngxué la | 小孩放學啦 | |
| Recently you've been much thinner. | nǐ zuìjìn shòu hǎoduō | 你最近瘦好多 | |
| Long time no see. | hǎojiǔ bújiàn | 好久不见 | |
| Long time, no see. Your complexion is great. | hǎojiǔ bùjiàn zuìjìn qìsè hěn bàng | 好久不见最近气色很棒 | |
| You are fat. | nǐ pàngle | 你胖了 | |
| You've gotten fat, living the good life now, huh? | biàn pàng liǎo bùcuò shēnghuóguò dé bùcuò? | 变胖了不错生活过得不错 | |
| See you next time. | xià cì jiàn | 下次见 | |
| Let's talk next time. | gǎitiān liáo | 改天聊 | |
| Take care. | bǎozhòng | 保重 | |
| Bye bye! (common in Taiwan) | bài bài la | 拜拜啦 | |
| See you tomorrow. (don't use unless you actually will see them tomorrow) | míng tiān jiàn | 明天见 | |
| When you’re free, let’s chat again. | yǒu kòng zài liáo | 有空再聊 | |
| Meet you again. (not as commonly said as 再见) | zài huì | 再会 | |
| Let’s stay in touch. | zài lián xì | 再联系 | |
| I’ve got to go. (literally "I have no choice but to say goodbye) | wǒ bù dé bù shuō zài jiàn le | 我不得不说再见了 | |
| I must leave first. (polite) I hear this in dramas all the time!! | wǒ xiān gào cí le | 我先告辞了 | |
| Sorry for leaving. (formal/very polite) | shī péi le | 失陪了 |
