Greetings and farewells in Chinese: complete guide
How to greet and say goodbye in Mandarin by formality, time of day, and social context.
Overview
Greeting well in Chinese is not just 你好. Formality, time of day, and your relationship with the other person change which expression fits.
Informal greetings
你好, 嗨 (hāi), and 最近怎么样？ (zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?) work with friends and classmates.
早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo) and 晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo) add time context without sounding stiff.
Formal greetings and farewells
您好 (nín hǎo), 久仰 (jiǔyǎng), and 再见 (zàijiàn) cover more formal contexts.
下次见 (xià cì jiàn) and 一路顺风 (yílù shùnfēng) are natural, memorable goodbyes.
Put it into practice
Master greetings and courtesy with HSK 1 lessons and speaking practice.