Everyone learns 你好 (nǐ hǎo) on day one, and everyone then over-uses it. Here is the thing textbooks rarely say plainly: 你好 is closer to a formal "How do you do" than to a breezy "hi." It is what you say on a first meeting, to a stranger, or in a polite/service setting — not what old friends bark at each other across the street. Between people who know each other, Chinese greetings work more like small talk: you open with a phatic question — 吃了吗？(eaten yet?), 去哪儿啊？(off somewhere?) — that nobody expects a literal answer to. This page gives you the whole spread, from the formal handshake down to the casual 嗨, plus every common way to say goodbye — and flags which register each belongs to, so you never sound stiff or over-familiar by accident.
你好 and 您好 — the neutral hello
你好 is the safe, all-purpose greeting for first meetings, strangers, and polite situations (formal-neutral). Swap 你 for the respectful 您 (nín) to get 您好, a notch more deferential — used with elders, customers, superiors, or anyone you want to show respect to. (For when to reach for 您 at all, see 您, the polite 'you'.)
你好，我是新来的小李，请多关照。
nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì xīn lái de Xiǎo Lǐ, qǐng duō guānzhào
Hello, I'm Xiao Li, the new hire — I look forward to working with you. (neutral, first meeting)
您好，请问王经理在吗？
nín hǎo, qǐngwèn Wáng jīnglǐ zài ma?
Hello, is Manager Wang in, please? (formal) — 您好 to be polite in a service/official setting.
Greetings by time of day
Chinese has a clean set keyed to the clock. Note the sharp split at the end of the day: 晚上好 greets someone in the evening, but 晚安 is only for parting or bedtime — never a hello.
| Chinese | Pinyin | When | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 早 / 早上好 | zǎo / zǎoshang hǎo | morning | bare 早 is the casual version among peers |
| 中午好 | zhōngwǔ hǎo | midday | less common; often skipped |
| 下午好 | xiàwǔ hǎo | afternoon | slightly formal |
| 晚上好 | wǎnshang hǎo | evening (greeting) | a hello, on arrival |
| 晚安 | wǎn'ān | night (parting) | goodnight / at bedtime, NOT a hello |
早！今天怎么来这么早？
zǎo! jīntiān zěnme lái zhème zǎo?
Morning! How come you're in so early today? (informal) — bare 早 between colleagues.
晚安，早点睡，别熬夜了。
wǎn'ān, zǎodiǎn shuì, bié áoyè le
Goodnight — get to bed early, no more staying up. (informal) — 晚安 as a parting/bedtime line.
Casual openers — 嗨 and the phatic question
Among friends, the real openers are the loanword 嗨 (hāi) "hi," sometimes 哈喽 (hālóu) "hello," and — most authentically — a phatic question that functions purely as a greeting. 吃了吗？(chī le ma, "eaten yet?") is the classic; the honest answer is just "eaten, and you?" — nobody is actually asking about your meal. This is the heart of Chinese greeting culture, treated in full on the 打招呼 phatic greeting.
老王，吃了吗？
Lǎo Wáng, chī le ma?
Hey Old Wang, eaten yet? (informal) — a phatic greeting, not a real question about food.
嗨，好久不见，最近怎么样？
hāi, hǎojiǔ bújiàn, zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
Hi, long time no see — how've you been lately? (informal)
A caution about the textbook favourite 你好吗？(nǐ hǎo ma, "how are you?"): native speakers rarely open with it. It sounds like a phrasebook. For real "how've you been," use 最近怎么样？or 最近忙吗？instead.
Meeting someone for the first time
First introductions have their own polite formulae. 幸会 (xìnghuì) "a pleasure to meet you" and 初次见面 (chūcì jiànmiàn) "meeting for the first time" are the neutral-to-formal openers; 久仰 (jiǔyǎng) "I've long admired you / heard much about you" is more elevated, said when the other person has a reputation. These often pair with 请多关照, covered on social formulae.
幸会幸会，久仰您的大名。
xìnghuì xìnghuì, jiǔyǎng nín de dàmíng
A real pleasure — I've long heard of your reputation. (formal) — reduplicating 幸会 warms it up.
Saying goodbye
The neutral parting is 再见 (zàijiàn), literally "again-see." Casual speech leans on the loanword 拜拜 (báibái) "bye-bye," and there is a whole family of "see-you-[when]" partings.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye | neutral, all-purpose |
| 拜拜 | báibái | bye | casual, texting |
| 回头见 / 一会儿见 | huítóu jiàn / yíhuìr jiàn | see you later / in a bit | informal |
| 明天见 / 下次见 | míngtiān jiàn / xiàcì jiàn | see you tomorrow / next time | neutral |
| 保重 | bǎozhòng | take care (of yourself) | warm, for a longer parting |
时间不早了，我先走了，明天见。
shíjiān bù zǎo le, wǒ xiān zǒu le, míngtiān jiàn
It's getting late, I'll head off first — see you tomorrow. (informal)
拜拜，回头聊！
báibái, huítóu liáo!
Bye — talk later! (informal) — the texting-and-casual close.
慢走 — said BY the host, not the guest
One parting phrase reverses English instincts. 慢走 (màn zǒu), literally "walk slowly," means "mind how you go / take care on your way" — and it is said by the person staying (the host) to the person leaving, not the other way round. As the departing guest, your line is the opposite: 留步 (liúbù) "please stay / don't see me out" or 别送了 (bié sòng le) "no need to see me off."
——路上小心，慢走！——好，您留步，别送了。
— lùshang xiǎoxīn, màn zǒu! — hǎo, nín liúbù, bié sòng le
'Mind how you go — take care!' 'Thanks, please don't trouble yourself, no need to see me out.' (informal, host and guest at the door)
Common Mistakes
1. Greeting close friends with 你好. It reads as stiff and over-formal between people who know each other.
❌ （对好朋友）你好！
Too formal to a close friend — sounds like a phrasebook. Open casually instead: 嗨！/ 吃了吗？
✅ 嗨，吃了吗？
hāi, chī le ma?
Hey, eaten yet? — the natural informal opener between friends.
2. Using 晚安 as an evening hello. 晚安 is only for parting or bedtime; to greet someone in the evening use 晚上好.
❌ （傍晚到朋友家）晚安！
Wrong — 晚安 is 'goodnight', a parting. Arriving in the evening you say 晚上好.
✅ 晚上好，我来晚了。
wǎnshang hǎo, wǒ lái wǎn le
Good evening — sorry I'm late. — 晚上好 greets on arrival.
3. Saying 慢走 to your host as you leave. 慢走 flows from the stayer to the leaver; as the departing guest you say 留步.
❌ （客人临走对主人）慢走！
Backwards — the host says 慢走 to you; as the leaving guest, say 留步 / 别送了.
✅ 您留步，我自己走就行。
nín liúbù, wǒ zìjǐ zǒu jiù xíng
Please don't see me out, I can find my own way. — the guest's line.
4. Opening with 你好吗？as 'how are you?' It sounds like a textbook; real speech uses 最近怎么样.
❌ （见到熟人）你好吗？
Stilted — natives rarely greet this way. Use 最近怎么样？for 'how've you been?'
✅ 好久不见，最近怎么样？
hǎojiǔ bújiàn, zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
Long time no see — how've you been lately? — the natural check-in.
Key Takeaways
- 你好 is formal / first-meeting, not a casual "hi"; with friends, open with 嗨 or a phatic question (吃了吗？).
- Time-of-day: 早 / 早上好, 下午好, 晚上好 greet on arrival; 晚安 is only goodnight/parting.
- The everyday openers between friends are loanwords (嗨) and phatic questions, not literal questions — see the 打招呼 page.
- First meetings use 幸会, 初次见面, 久仰; skip the phrasebook 你好吗.
- Partings: neutral 再见, casual 拜拜, "see-you-[when]" (回头见, 明天见), warm 保重.
- 慢走 is said by the host to the departing guest; the guest replies 留步 / 别送了.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- 打招呼 — Phatic Greetings (吃了吗?)HSK 2 — Chinese often greets with a question that isn't a real question: 吃了吗？(chī le ma) 'eaten yet?', 去哪儿啊？(qù nǎr a) 'off somewhere?', 干嘛呢？(gànmá ne) 'what're you up to?'. Like English 'how's it going?', these are phatic — social lubricant that wants a light token reply, not a real answer, and 去哪儿 is not nosy.
- Social Formulae & Set PhrasesHSK 3 — The fixed politeness phrases that keep Chinese social life running: 辛苦了 (xīnkǔ le) 'thanks for your effort', 麻烦你了 (máfan nǐ le) 'sorry to trouble you', 请多关照 (qǐng duō guānzhào) 'please look after me', 慢用 (màn yòng) 'enjoy your meal', 失陪了 (shīpéi le) 'excuse me, I must go'. None has a tidy English match — the skill is to produce the phrase the social slot calls for, not to translate your English thought.
- Addressing Strangers: 师傅/帅哥/美女/老板HSK 3 — Chinese has no neutral 'sir/ma'am' to fall back on — you pick an address term by the stranger's role, age, and gender: 师傅 for a driver or tradesperson, 帅哥/美女 for a young man/woman, 老板 for a shopkeeper, 阿姨/大爷 for older adults, 同学 for a student. The classic trap is 小姐, which now carries a seedy ring on the mainland.