How to Say Hello in Mandarin

The default answer is ni3 hao3 (你好) - "hello." Universally understood across the Mandarin-speaking world. But Mandarin greeting culture differs from English in ways that matter: the time-of-day greetings work differently, the formal "you" (nin) is more common than in English, and casual greetings often involve asking about food, work, or daily activity rather than a stand-alone "how are you?". This article covers the basic phrase, the tone work, the time-of-day variants, the formal-informal distinction, and the regional differences.

The basic greeting

Ni hao (你好) - "hello" or literally "you good."

The pronunciation:

• Ni3 (ni, third tone) - falling-rising tone, dipping low then rising slightly.
• Hao3 (hao, third tone) - same third tone.

When two third tones occur in sequence, the first changes to second tone (rising) in spoken Mandarin. So "ni hao" is actually pronounced as if it were "ni2 hao3" - "ní hǎo." This is tone sandhi, one of the systematic tone-modification rules in spoken Mandarin.

The greeting is grammatically a compound: "ni" (you) + "hao" (good). The construction extends to other greetings: "da jia hao" (everyone hello), "lao shi hao" (teacher hello), "Beijing hao" (Beijing hello, used for "hello, Beijing!" in performances).

Formal versus informal

Mandarin has a formal version of "you" that is widely used in business and formal contexts:

• Ni (你) - informal you (friends, family, peers, children)
• Nin (您) - formal you (strangers, elders, professionals, formal contexts)

The formal greeting is nin2 hao3 (您好), which is pronounced with normal tones (no sandhi shift because the first character is second tone). Use it:

• With strangers in business contexts.
• With significantly older people.
• In formal customer service interactions.
• In job interviews and professional first contacts.

The formality register matters more in Mandarin than English speakers typically expect. Pre-emptively using ni with a senior business contact reads as inappropriately casual.

Time-of-day greetings

Mandarin has time-of-day greetings but they are less universally used than in English or French:

Practical notes:

Zao shang hao / Zao an

"Good morning" - "Zao shang hao" is the mainland China standard; "Zao an" (literally "morning peace") is more common in Taiwan and in writing. In casual mainland Chinese conversation, simply zao (早) - "morning" - is the most common everyday morning greeting.

Xia wu hao / Wan shang hao

The afternoon and evening forms exist but are less universally used. Many native Mandarin speakers default to ni hao or simply ni at any time of day rather than switching to time-of-day variants. The time-of-day greetings are more formal and more common in business and broadcast contexts.

Wan an

"Good night" - only as a farewell, not as a greeting. The same constraint as English: do not use this to greet someone who is starting their day or evening.

Casual greetings beyond ni hao

Mandarin casual greeting culture often replaces "hello" with a question about the person's recent activity:

Ni chi le ma?

"Have you eaten?" is the most culturally distinctive Mandarin greeting. It is not literally asking if you have eaten; it functions as a greeting and the appropriate response is "chi le, ni ne?" (I have eaten, and you?) or simply "chi le" - regardless of whether you have actually eaten.

The cultural background: in older Chinese culture, food security was a real concern and asking if someone had eaten was a genuine wellness inquiry. The phrase fossilised into a greeting and remains widely used today, especially in older generations and rural contexts. Urban younger speakers use it less often but still recognise and use it casually.

Ni qu na li?

"Where are you going?" - also functions as a greeting more than a literal question. The Chinese cultural register treats interest in others' immediate activity as warmer than the English "how are you?". Standard answers: "wo qu shang ban" (I am going to work), "wo qu mai cai" (I am going to buy food), or vague answers like "chu qu yi xia" (going out for a bit).

Responding to greetings

Standard response patterns:

The reciprocation rule applies: Mandarin greetings expect a reciprocal "ni ne?" (and you?) or a matching question back. Cutting off without asking back is technically correct but socially cold.

Regional variations

Mainland China (Putonghua)

• Ni hao / Nin hao is universal.
• Zao (morning) and wan an (good night) are widely used.
• Ni chi le ma? persists strongly, especially in northern China and among older speakers.
• Younger urban speakers (Beijing, Shanghai) increasingly use English-loan greetings ("hi", "hello") in casual contexts.

Taiwan (Guoyu)

• Ni hao / Nin hao is universal.
• Zao an (good morning) is more common than mainland zao shang hao.
• Taiwan greeting register tends to be slightly more polite than mainland with more nin usage.
• Taiwanese Mandarin uses traditional characters: 你好 / 您好 are the same characters, but other greeting variants like 早安 vs 早上好 use different vocabulary.

Singapore (Huayu)

• Ni hao is universal.
• Code-switching with English ("hi", "hello") is extremely common in casual contexts.
• Singapore Mandarin uses simplified characters as in mainland China.
• The "have you eaten?" greeting is still understood but less commonly used than in mainland China.

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong operates primarily in Cantonese. The Mandarin ni hao is understood but the local greeting is Cantonese nei hou (你好) or more casually lei hou.
• Mandarin greetings to Hong Kong locals mark you as either a mainland speaker or a foreign Mandarin learner; Cantonese nei hou is the local idiomatic choice if you have any Cantonese.

Mainland regional dialects

Mainland China hosts many regional dialects (Cantonese in Guangdong, Shanghainese, Sichuanese, Hokkien-related varieties in Fujian), each with distinct greeting vocabulary. Mandarin ni hao is universally understood as the national language; regional greetings are local-vernacular alternatives.

Special situations

Phone greetings

When answering the phone:

• Wei? (喂?) - "Hello?" - universal Mandarin phone greeting
• Ni hao? (你好?) - more formal

When making the call, after the other person picks up:

• Ni hao, wo shi X. - "Hello, I am X."

Greeting in writing

Email and message greetings:

• Ni hao - casual everyday
• Nin hao - formal business
• X xian sheng / X nv shi (Mr. X / Ms. X) - very formal address
• Zun jing de X (Respected X) - formal honorific

Email closings: Zhi li (祝礼) - send my regards; Ci zhi jing li (此致敬礼) - formal close.

Bowing and physical greeting

Mainland China does not have a bow-based greeting culture like Japan or Korea. Standard physical greeting:

• Handshake - the universal modern Chinese greeting in business contexts.
• Slight nod - in casual encounters.
• No physical contact - increasingly common, especially post-Covid.

Cheek-kisses are not part of standard Chinese greeting culture.

A few useful related phrases

How to actually internalise these

Three practical recommendations:

1. Use nin hao for first business contacts. The formal you (nin) signals respect and reads as appropriately professional. Defaulting to the informal ni in business reads as casual.
2. Master the tone sandhi. Ni hao is pronounced "ni2 hao3" (rising-falling) not "ni3 hao3" (falling-falling). Getting this right immediately marks you as having engaged with Mandarin pronunciation properly. The Mandarin tone trainer drills this.
3. Don't worry about ni chi le ma? Foreign learners overdeploy this phrase trying to sound culturally fluent. Native speakers do use it but not in every greeting; ni hao is the safer default. The "have you eaten?" greeting works best in established casual relationships, not with new contacts.

Cross-references

• The Mandarin for adult learners pillar covers the wider Mandarin learning approach.
• The Mandarin variety guide covers the mainland vs Taiwan vs Hong Kong distinction.
• The Mandarin grammar cheatsheet covers the structures underlying these greetings.
• The how to say thank you in Mandarin article covers the gratitude vocabulary that pairs with greetings.
• The Mandarin tone trainer provides the tone-discrimination practice needed for ni hao's tone sandhi.
• The common mistakes for English speakers in Mandarin article covers register gaps that affect greeting interactions.