25 Mandarin Chinese Greetings for Real Conversations

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So you want to know how to say “hello” in Chinese. The quick answer is 你好 (nǐ hǎo), but that is only the beginning.

Mandarin greetings change with the setting. The phrase you use on the phone is different from the one you use with a group, an old friend or someone you have just met. I’ll show you 25 useful options and, just as importantly, when each one fits.

This guide uses simplified Chinese characters and Hanyu Pinyin. You may see traditional characters in Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere, and everyday wording varies by region. Listen to the people around you and treat the notes below as practical starting points, not rigid rules.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Chinese for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

1. “Hello” in Chinese: 你好 (nǐ hǎo)

你好 is the standard beginner answer to “How do you say hello in Chinese?” The characters are 你 (“you”) and 好 (“good”). It is a safe, neutral greeting, especially with someone you do not know well.

You may hear people say that native speakers never use 你好. That goes too far. Friends often open with a name, a question or a greeting suited to the moment, but 你好 is still normal in introductions, service encounters and other neutral situations.

One pronunciation detail helps: when two third-tone syllables come together, the first is pronounced with a rising contour. So nǐ hǎo is written with two third-tone marks, but in speech it sounds closer to ní hǎo. Our guide to Mandarin tones explains this pattern in more detail.

2. A respectful “hello”: 您好 (nín hǎo)

您 (nín) is a respectful singular form of “you”, so 您好 is useful when politeness or social distance matters. You might hear it when speaking with a customer, an older person or someone in a formal role.

Its use varies by region and relationship. 你好 is not automatically rude, so follow the wording your conversation partner uses rather than treating age as the only rule.

3. “Have you eaten?”: 你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chīfàn le ma?)

Among people who already know one another, a meal-time question such as 你吃饭了吗？ can work as a warm conversational opener. It is not a universal substitute for “hello”, and the speaker may genuinely be asking whether you have eaten.

Answer the question naturally: 吃了 (chī le, “I have”) or 还没 (hái méi, “not yet”). A fuller answer can lead straight into conversation.

4. Another meal-time opener: 吃过饭了吗？ (chīguo fàn le ma?)

This asks whether someone has had a meal. In this context, 饭 (fàn) means a meal or cooked food, not necessarily rice. As with the shorter version, it works best when the timing and relationship make the question natural.

5. “Hello, everyone”: 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo)

Use 大家好 to greet an audience or group: at the start of a class, presentation, meeting or video, for example. 大家 means “everyone”.

6. “Hello, you all”: 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo)

你们好 addresses the people in front of you directly: “hello, you all”. It can greet two people or a larger group. 大家好 feels broader, while 你们好 puts the focus on the listeners.

7. “I’ve long admired your reputation”: 久仰大名 (jiǔyǎng dàmíng)

久仰大名 is a formal, literary expression for meeting someone whose reputation you already know. The shorter 久仰 (jiǔyǎng) is also possible. This is not an everyday “nice to meet you”, so save it for a genuinely formal introduction.

8. “Nice to meet you”: 很高兴认识你 (hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ)

很高兴认识你 is a useful everyday way to say “nice to meet you”. You may also encounter 幸会 (xìnghuì), but that sounds more formal or bookish.

9. “Hello?” on the phone: 喂 (wèi)

When answering the phone, say 喂？, much like “hello?” in English. You will hear variation in its tone and intonation, so native audio is more useful here than trying to force one English-style pronunciation.

10. “What happened?”: 怎么了？ (zěnme le?)

怎么了？ usually asks “What happened?”, “What’s wrong?” or “What is it?” It can open a conversation when something seems to have changed, but it is not a neutral greeting for every friend you meet.

Here, sentence-final 了 helps signal a new situation. It does not simply translate the English word “up”.

11. A loanword “hello”: 哈啰 (hāluō)

哈啰, also written 哈罗, represents the sound of English “hello”. It is casual and playful rather than the default choice in every setting.

12. “Hi”: 嗨 (hāi)

嗨 is an informal loanword that works much like “hi”. Use it with friends and in other relaxed situations.

13. “Hey”: 嘿 (hēi)

嘿 can get someone’s attention or work as a casual “hey”. Tone of voice matters: a bright 嘿！ to a friend feels very different from shouting it at a stranger.

14. “What are you up to?”: 你在干嘛呢？ (nǐ zài gànmá ne?)

This is a casual check-in for someone you know. It asks what they are doing, so it invites a real answer.

Do not confuse it with 出去玩吗？ (chūqù wán ma?), which asks whether someone wants to go out or hang out. That is an invitation, not another way to say “hello”.

15. “Where are you going?”: 你去哪儿？ (nǐ qù nǎr?)

Between acquaintances, 你去哪儿？ can be a light passing question as well as a literal request for information. In regions without érhuà, you may hear 你去哪里？ (nǐ qù nǎlǐ?) instead.

Keep it for people you know and answer briefly, such as 去上班 (qù shàngbān, “I’m going to work”).

16. “How are you?”: 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?)

你好吗？ is grammatical and easy to understand, but it can sound like a textbook phrase. With someone you already know, a more specific question often feels more natural.

17. “Long time no see”: 好久不见 (hǎojiǔ bú jiàn)

Use 好久不见 when you meet someone after a noticeable gap. It is warm, common and easy to follow with a question about what has changed.

The word 不 is written bù, but before the fourth tone in 见 it is pronounced with a rising tone: bú jiàn.

18. “How have things been lately?”: 最近怎么样？ (zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?)

最近怎么样？ is a flexible follow-up after 好久不见. It asks how things have been recently without imposing an arbitrary minimum time since you last met.

19. “Good morning”: 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo)

早上好 is a clear way to say “good morning”. There is no universal clock time when it suddenly becomes wrong; use it while the situation still feels like morning.

20. A casual “morning”: 早！ (zǎo!)

早！ is the short, casual option you can use with classmates, colleagues and other people you see in the morning.

21. “Good morning” in a formal setting: 上午好 (shàngwǔ hǎo)

上午好 refers to the morning before noon. It is useful in presentations, announcements and more formal greetings, but you do not need to switch to it at an exact hour.

22. “Good afternoon”: 下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo)

下午好 means “good afternoon”. It is clear and polite, though in casual conversation people often greet each other by name or move straight to a question.

23. “Good evening”: 晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo) is the corresponding evening greeting. As with 下午好, it can feel more formal than a simple conversational opener.

24. “Goodbye”: 再见 (zàijiàn)

再见 literally combines “again” and “see”. It is the standard, widely understood way to say goodbye, even when you do not know exactly when you will meet again.

25. “Bye-bye”: 拜拜 (bàibài) is a casual loanword used in Taiwan, mainland China and other Mandarin-speaking communities. Use the full two-syllable form.

Start with one Mandarin greeting

You do not need all 25 greetings at once. Start with 你好, 早, 好久不见 and 再见, then add one phrase that fits the people you actually speak with.

Say each phrase aloud with native audio, then try it with a tutor or language exchange partner. Once you are comfortable opening the conversation, continue with our guide to learning Mandarin Chinese.

再见 (zàijiàn)!