“Good evening” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Good evening
“Good evening” in Chinese is 晚上好, wǎnshang hǎo. Literally it is “evening — good”: the word 晚上 “evening” and 好 “good”, as in 你好. It is a greeting for when you meet someone. “Good night” is a different phrase in Chinese — more on that below.
How to pronounce 晚上好
- 晚上wǎnshangevening, in the evening
- 好hǎogood, well
wǎn is third tone: the voice stays low. shang is a light syllable with no tone of its own, short and quiet. hǎo is third tone again. So it goes “low — short — low”, with the weight on the first and last syllables. Listen to the endings: wǎn ends in a clean “n”, as in “on”, while shang ends in “ng”, as in “song”. Mixing them up is one of the most common beginner mistakes.
How to write 晚上好
Three characters. 晚 means “late; evening”: eleven strokes, with 日 “sun” on the left. 上 is “above, on”, three strokes; in words for times of day it is simply part of the word, as in 早上 “morning”. Together, 晚上 is “evening”. The third character, 好, is “good”: “woman” 女 and “child” 子. The stroke order and practice sheets are in the writing worksheets.
When people say it
晚上好 is said once it gets dark — from about six in the evening. It sounds formal: it is how a presenter opens the evening news, or how hotel or restaurant staff greet guests.
- 大家晚上好！dàjiāwǎnshanghǎogood evening, everyone
- 老师，晚上好！lǎoshī,wǎnshanghǎogood evening, teacher
Friends and neighbors greet each other in the evening the same way as during the day: . With someone older — 您好. During the day, instead of 晚上好 people say 下午好 — see “Good afternoon” in Chinese.
晚上好 vs 晚安: what’s the difference
- 晚上好wǎnshanghǎogood evening — when you arrive
- 晚安wǎn’āngood night — before bed
These two are the pair learners mix up most, because both start with 晚. But 晚上好 is a greeting: you say it when you arrive. 晚安 is a goodbye — literally “evening peace” — said before going to sleep or at the end of a late chat. Walking into a room with 晚安 is like walking in and saying “good night” in English. More on the page “Good night” in Chinese.
If you are not greeting someone but arranging to meet later, you need 晚上见 wǎnshangjiàn — see you tonight.
How to answer
With the same words: 晚上好. In a hotel or restaurant a 你好 and a smile are enough — nobody expects a long reply.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “good evening” in Chinese?
“Good evening” in Chinese is 晚上好, in pinyin wǎnshang hǎo.
How do you pronounce 晚上好?
晚上好 is read wǎnshang hǎo. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “good evening” in Chinese characters?
晚上好 is 3 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 晚上好 mean?
晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo) means “good evening”.
Start with greetings
The first lesson is about saying hello: you listen to a dialogue, repeat out loud and see whether you hit the tones. Free during the beta.
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