How to greet in Chinese: 你好, 老师, and 不好意思
Formal and informal greetings, apologies, thanks and essential phrases.
Editorial: Javier Garcia Floriano · Contact
Founder of Chinese Trainer. These lists come from the app's HSK inventory (hanzi, pinyin, band), not from an official exam PDF.
The first line you hear in China is not a speech. It is 你好, sometimes 您好 at a desk, and often a title: 老师 in class, 师傅 in a workshop or a cab. Names come later. HSK 1 already gives you 谢谢, 对不起 and 再见. What class skips is 不好意思 in a queue, 请问 before you tap a shoulder, and 麻烦你 when you ask a favor. This page keeps greetings, apologies and introductions, and drops 好吃 / 好看 that keyword matching drags in via 好. Chinese Trainer tags every row with an HSK band; the same rows feed SRS in the app. Save HSK 1 first, say the first-meeting dialogue out loud, and skip ten synonyms of “nice to meet you” until you can say your name. At a reception desk, 我叫… and 请问您贵姓 cut the silence faster than a formula list.
Key takeaways
- 你好 is fine between peers; 您好 is the desk-and-elders greeting.
- 老师 and 师傅 are job titles, not nicknames. Use them before a name.
- 不好意思 covers bumps, delays and queues; 对不起 is heavier (harm or fault).
- 请问 opens a question to a stranger; without it you sound like you are giving orders.
- This list is this site's inventory, not a scan of an official HSK paper.
How to use these words
The useful scene is not a cocktail. It is day one: someone introduces a 老师 in a classroom, or a 师傅 who will show you a machine. They say 你好. You return 您好 if there is age or rank in the way, then 我叫… plus your country. If the name flies past, 请问您贵姓 is politer than “what?”. The workshop 师傅 does not want a CV speech. He wants 请多关照, and he does not want you switching into English.
When you bump someone in a corridor, 不好意思 closes it. Save 对不起 for being late to a meeting or breaking something. 麻烦你 opens a small favor (pass a cable, sign a form). 请 sticks to the verb: 请进, 请坐, 请说慢一点. Do not memorize 久仰大名 in month one: nobody will throw it back at a 便利店 door.
Leave-taking is short too. 再见 works. 明天见 if you will see them again. 慢走 is what you say to the person leaving your space, not the other way round. 欢迎光临 is their line when they welcome you, not yours. Run the dialogue below out loud twice: once as classroom tone, once as if the 师傅 has both hands busy and is only half listening. If they correct the title, repeat it; do not freeze and jump into English. Two minutes of voice beat a screenshot of a phrasebook.
How this list was built
The published count is 43 rows for this situation after exclusions, not the raw keyword match. We checked this inventory against the HSK bands on chinesetest.cn. HSK is the level tagged on each row. Chinese Trainer is the app whose SRS uses the same rows. Chinese greetings is the situation this page teaches.
Word list
43 words in this topic (cleaned list) · HSK 1–2
Hello and goodbye
| HSK | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye |
| 1 | 你好 | nǐhǎo | hello |
| 2 | 欢迎 | huānyíng | to welcome |
| 7 | 不辞而别 | bùcí'érbié | to leave without saying good-bye |
4 words · Practice them in the app
Apologies and trouble
| HSK | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 请 | qǐng | please |
| 1 | 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | sorry |
| 1 | 请坐 | qǐng zuò | please |
| 1 | 请进 | qǐng jìn | please come in |
| 2 | 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi | to feel embarrassed |
| 3 | 麻烦 | máfan | trouble |
| 7 | 拜托 | bàituō | to request someone to do something |
| 7 | 敬请 | jìngqǐng | please |
8 words · Practice them in the app
Thanks
| HSK | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 谢谢 | xièxie | to thank |
| 7 | 多亏 | duōkuī | thanks to |
| 7 | 得益于 | déyì yú | to benefit from |
3 words · Practice them in the app
Introducing yourself
| HSK | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 介绍 | jièshào | to introduce |
| 1 | 名字 | míngzi | name |
| 2 | 姓 | xìng | name |
| 2 | 称 | chēng / chèn / chèng | balanced |
| 2 | 名称 | míngchēng | name |
| 2 | 姓名 | xìngmíng | full name |
| 2 | 报名 | bàomíng | to sign up |
| 2 | 考生 | kǎoshēng | exam candidate |
| 3 | 民族 | mínzú | nationality |
| 5 | 欣 | xīn | delighted |
| 5 | 国籍 | guójí | nationality |
| 5 | 称号 | chēnghào | name |
| 6 | 地名 | dìmíng | place name |
| 6 | 铜牌 | tóngpái | bronze medal |
| 7 | 苗 | miáo | sprouts |
| 7 | 蜀 | shǔ | the name of an ancient state |
| 7 | 代号 | dàihào | code name |
| 7 | 华侨 | huáqiáo | overseas Chinese |
| 7 | 名副其实 | míngfùqíshí | not just in name only |
| 7 | 命名 | mìngmíng | to give a name to |
| 7 | 改名 | gǎimíng | to rename |
| 7 | 迷恋 | míliàn | to be infatuated with |
22 words · Practice them in the app
Other words in this topic
| HSK | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 请假 | qǐngjià | to request leave of absence |
| 2 | 可以 | kěyǐ | can |
| 4 | 问候 | wènhòu | to give one's respects |
| 7 | 执照 | zhízhào | license |
| 7 | 擅自 | shànzì | without permission |
| 7 | 绿灯 | lǜdēng | green light |
6 words · Practice them in the app
Example sentences
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你好，我叫安娜。 | Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Ānnà. | Hello, my name is Anna. |
| 您好，老师。 | Nín hǎo, lǎoshī. | Hello, teacher. |
| 请问，您是师傅吗？ | Qǐngwèn, nín shì shīfu ma? | Excuse me — are you the shifu? |
| 不好意思，借过一下。 | Bù hǎoyìsi, jièguò yíxià. | Sorry — coming through. |
| 对不起，我来晚了。 | Duìbuqǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le. | Sorry, I'm late. |
| 谢谢，麻烦你了。 | Xièxie, máfan nǐ le. | Thanks — sorry for the trouble. |
| 请坐。请多关照。 | Qǐng zuò. Qǐng duō guānzhào. | Please sit. Please look after me. |
| 欢迎！请进。 | Huānyíng! Qǐng jìn. | Welcome! Please come in. |
| 再见，明天见。 | Zàijiàn, míngtiān jiàn. | Bye — see you tomorrow. |
| 请问您贵姓？ | Qǐngwèn nín guìxìng? | May I ask your surname? |
Dialogue: you meet a 老师 and a 师傅
First meeting at a training centre. Only words from this list.
| Speaker | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleague | 你好！这是新来的。 | Nǐ hǎo! Zhè shì xīn lái de. | Hi! This is the new person. |
| You | 您好。我叫马可。 | Nín hǎo. Wǒ jiào Mǎkě. | Hello. I'm Marco. |
| Teacher | 欢迎。请坐。 | Huānyíng. Qǐng zuò. | Welcome. Please sit. |
| You | 谢谢老师。请多关照。 | Xièxie lǎoshī. Qǐng duōguānzhào. | Thank you, teacher. Please look after me. |
| Shifu | 我是王师傅。认识你很高兴。 | Wǒ shì Wáng shīfu. Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng. | I'm Master Wang. Good to meet you. |
| You | 您好，王师傅。请问您贵姓？啊，王。 | Nín hǎo, Wáng shīfu. Qǐngwèn nín guìxìng? A, Wáng. | Hello, Master Wang. Your surname? Ah, Wang. |
| Colleague | 不好意思，我们迟到了。 | Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒmen chídào le. | Sorry — we're late. |
| Teacher | 没关系。明天见。 | Méi guānxi. Míngtiān jiàn. | No problem. See you tomorrow. |
| You | 再见。麻烦你了。 | Zàijiàn. Máfan nǐ le. | Bye. Sorry for the trouble. |
Measure words for this topic
For people in a formal greeting, 位 is politer than 个: 三位老师. 个 is fine among friends. 你好 and 谢谢 take no measure word.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 您好 to a classmate your age | 你好 | 您好 marks distance. With a peer it sounds cold or ironic. |
| 对不起 for bumping someone in the metro | 不好意思 | A queue bump is 不好意思. 对不起 sounds like real fault. |
| Calling a mechanic 老师 | 师傅 | 老师 is the classroom. 师傅 is a trade: cab, kitchen, workshop. |
| 欢迎光临 as you leave a shop | 再见 / 谢谢 | 欢迎光临 is the host's line. You thank or say goodbye. |
| 请问 omitted before a stranger | 请问，… | Without 请问 the question sounds like an order. |
FAQ
When do I use 你好 versus 您好?
你好 with peers and younger people. 您好 with elders, at a counter, and when rank is in play (老师, 经理).
What is the difference between 不好意思 and 对不起?
不好意思 covers light inconvenience. 对不起 admits fault or harm. In a queue, 不好意思; if you break a glass, 对不起.
How do I introduce myself at HSK 1?
你好，我叫…，我是…人. Add 请多关照 at work or in class. You do not need 非常荣幸 on day one.
Should I call every polite adult 老师?
No. 老师 is a teacher, or school-register respect. Trades take 师傅. At a counter, 您好 is enough.
How do I practice these greetings?
Save the HSK 1 rows to Chinese Trainer SRS and say the first-meeting dialogue before you walk in. Two minutes out loud beat a silent list.
Practice in the app
The same greeting rows feed Chinese Trainer SRS flashcards. Start HSK 1–2 free, save 你好 and 不好意思, and run today's deck before the next introduction.