The Most Common Ways to Say Hello in Chinese

Most language learners would agree that one of the first words they come across when learning a new language is “hello”. It is indeed the most common word people use in order to start a conversation. Well, let’s take a look at the following five words that can be used to say hello in Chinese.

1. Nǐ hǎo!

你好
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
(lit.) you-good

This is the most common way to say hello in Chinese. In this word, “你 nǐ” means “you”, and “好 hǎo” means “good”. Therefore, the literal meaning of this word is “you good”. Friendliness is an essential part of traditional Chinese culture in terms of dealing with interpersonal relationships, and it is also reflected in the use of “你好 nǐ hǎo” as Chinese people wish everything is going well with those they say hello to.

2. Nǐmen hǎo!

你们好
Nǐmen hǎo!
Hello!
(to a group of people)

This is another word that Chinese people frequently use to say hello in Chinese. In comparison with 你好 (nǐ hǎo), the only difference lies in the use of 你们 (nǐmen), which is the plural form of the English word “you”. Consequently, this word will come in handy when you would like to say hello to a group of people.

3. Gè wèi hǎo!

各位好!
Gè wèi hǎo!
Hello everyone!

The meaning of this word is similar to that of 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo) since 各位 (gè wèi) also implies plural. Nevertheless, the meaning of 各位 (gè wèi) is a bit different from that of 你们 (nǐmen) because it is usually translated as “all the people” or “everybody”. Therefore, it is easy to tell that 各位好 (gè wèi hǎo) is equivalent to “hello everyone” in English. The most common situation where you can use this word is when you would like to say hello to your new colleagues after arriving at your new workplace on the first day. Another popular word that has the same meaning is 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo), in which 大家 (dàjiā) also means “everyone”.

4. Hāi!

嗨!
Hāi!
Hi!

You can easily tell that 嗨 (hāi) stands for the English word “hi” judging by its pronunciation. Nowadays, young people in China are willing to communicate with people from different countries so that they can know more about some culture elements that cannot be observed in China. As a result, a large number of loan words can be heard when young people are having casual conversations with their friends. 嗨 (hāi) is obviously derived from the English word “hi”.

5. Zǎo

早 !
Zǎo!
Morning!

If you would like to say hello to your Chinese friends or colleagues in the morning, 早 (zǎo) can be an ideal choice other than 你好 (nǐ hǎo) in that it means “morning/good morning” in this case. However, the original meaning of 早 (zǎo) is “early”. In fact, a lot of Chinese people prefer to say 早 (zǎo) to their coworkers when they arrive at their companies in the morning.

To find out more interesting and useful Chinese vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 7 Awesome Summer Water Sports Activities in Chinese