How to Say Hello in Chinese

The standard way to say hello in Chinese is 你好 (nǐ hǎo). It literally means "you good" and is understood everywhere, in any situation. For a more polite or respectful greeting — to an elder, a teacher, or a customer — use 您好 (nín hǎo), which swaps in the honorific 您 (nín, "you").

The essential greetings

How do you say good morning and good evening?

Chinese has time-based greetings built on the pattern time of day + 好 (hǎo):

Note that 晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo) is a greeting when you meet someone in the evening, while 晚安 (wǎn'ān) is a farewell said before going to bed — don't mix them up.

How do you answer the phone in Chinese?

On the phone, Chinese speakers do not say 你好 first. Instead they answer with a special word:

喂 (wéi) is used almost exclusively for answering the phone. It's usually pronounced with a rising second tone (wéi) when greeting; the falling fourth tone (wèi) can sound more abrupt, like "hey."

Casual greetings between friends

Once you know someone, 你好 can feel a little stiff. Friends greet each other more casually:

The question 你吃了吗？("Have you eaten?") is a classic friendly greeting — it's not really asking about your meal, it's just a warm way to say hi, much like "How's it going?" in English.

A cultural note

你好 is more of a "first-meeting" greeting than an everyday one. Among family, coworkers, and close friends, people usually skip it and jump straight to a name, a title, or a question. Learning a person's name or role (老师 lǎoshī "teacher," 王先生 Wáng xiānsheng "Mr. Wang") and using it as a greeting sounds far more natural than repeating 你好.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you say hello in Chinese?

Say 你好 (nǐ hǎo). For politeness use 您好 (nín hǎo).

How do you say hello to a group?

Use 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo, "hello everyone") or 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo).

How do you say hello on the phone?

Answer with 喂 (wéi), the phone-specific greeting, usually with a rising tone.

How do you say good morning in Chinese?

Say 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo) or the short casual 早 (zǎo).