How to say hello and thank you in Chinese: first phrases with audio
Your first Chinese phrases are short: "hello" is two syllables, and so is "thank you". Below is everything you need for a first conversation: how to say hello, thank someone, introduce yourself and say goodbye. You can listen to every phrase: tap the speaker icon.
How to say hello in Chinese
- 你好nǐhǎohello, hiworks almost everywhere
- 您好nínhǎohello (polite)to older people, strangers, customers
- 大家好dàjiāhǎohi, everyonewhen there are several people
- 早上好zǎoshanghǎogood morning
Word for word, is "you good": 你 means "you", 好 means "good". Both syllables have the third tone, and two third tones in a row aren't said as written: the first one rises to a second tone, so it sounds like "ní hǎo". More on this in the article on tones.
“How are you?” in Chinese
- 你好吗？nǐhǎomahow are you?
- 我很好wǒhěnhǎoI'm fine, I'm good
- 我也很好wǒyěhěnhǎoI'm fine too
The particle 吗 at the end turns a statement into a question: "you good" becomes "you good?". Many simple questions in Chinese work this way: the word order stays the same, you just add ma. No "do", no "are you", no inversion.
“Thank you” and “sorry” in Chinese
- 谢谢xièxiethank you, thanksroughly "shyeh-shyeh", not "zie-zie"
- 不客气búkèqiyou're welcome
- 对不起duìbuqǐsorry, I'm sorry
- 没关系méiguānxiit's OK, no problem
The letter x in pinyin isn't the x of "taxi": it sits between s and sh, said with the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth. So xièxie sounds roughly like "shyeh-shyeh". The other letters that trip English speakers up (q, zh, c, the "e" in hé) are all in the pinyin chart, where you can hear each one.
How to introduce yourself in Chinese
- 你叫什么名字？nǐjiàoshénmemíngziwhat's your name?
- 我叫安娜wǒjiàoĀnnàmy name is Anna
- 你是哪国人？nǐshìnǎguórénwhere are you from?literally "you are which-country person?"
- 我是外国人wǒshìwàiguórénI'm a foreigner
- 认识你很高兴rènshinǐhěngāoxìngnice to meet you
To give your own name, swap 安娜 for yours: 我叫… means "my name is…". The verb 叫 means "to be called", so you don't repeat the word "name" in the answer. Want a real Chinese name instead of a sound-alike? See your name in Chinese.
To say where you're from, put your country before 人 ("person"): 美国人 Měiguórén — American, 英国人 Yīngguórén — British, 加拿大人 Jiānádàrén — Canadian, 澳大利亚人 Àodàlìyàrén — Australian. So "I'm American" is 我是美国人 wǒ shì Měiguó rén.
How to say goodbye in Chinese
- 再见zàijiàngoodbyeliterally "see again"
- 明天见míngtiānjiànsee you tomorrow
- 下个星期见xiàgexīngqījiànsee you next week
The pattern is the same as in English: "when" + 见 ("see"). Put in the time you'll meet and you have a goodbye: "tomorrow see", "next week see".
A few more phrases for your first day
- 请问qǐngwènexcuse me, may I askhow you start a question to a stranger
- 你会说汉语吗？nǐhuìshuōHànyǔmado you speak Chinese?
- 我会说一点儿wǒhuìshuōyìdiǎnrI speak a little
- 我不会说中文wǒbúhuìshuōZhōngwénI don't speak Chinese
- 太贵了tàiguìleit's too expensive
How to remember them
Phrases stick when you say them, not when you read them. Play the recording, repeat it out loud and compare. Then cover the meaning and try to recall what each one says. Almost every word in these phrases is on the HSK 1 word list, the first three hundred words people start Chinese with.
Detailed guides to the most common phrases (how to answer, what people actually say instead, how they sound) are in the Chinese phrases section: hello, thank you, how are you, what's your name, good morning.
Say it out loud
In the lessons these phrases come up in dialogues: you build them from words and say them yourself, and Mei checks you. Free during the beta.
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