“Good night” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Good night
"Good night" in Chinese is 晚安, wǎn'ān. Literally it is "late peace" or "evening calm": it's what you say before going to sleep, at home, on the phone and in messages.
What the word is made of
- 晚wǎnlate; evening
- 安āncalm, peaceful
wǎn has the third tone, low; ān has the first, high and level. The apostrophe in wǎn'ān marks where one syllable ends and the next begins: "wan-an", not "wa-nan". There is a tiny break between them, and the second starts with a clean "a", like the "ah" in "father". More on the word on its page: 晚安.
晚安 vs 晚上好: good night and good evening
- 晚上好wǎnshanghǎogood evening (when you meet)
- 晚安wǎn’āngood night (when you leave)
Both start with 晚, so they're easy to mix up. 晚上好 is a greeting: 晚上 means "evening". 晚安 is a goodbye before sleep. Here English works exactly like Chinese: you wouldn't walk into a dinner party and say "Good night!" to the hosts, and you shouldn't say 晚安 there either. How to greet people in the morning, afternoon and evening is on the page "Good morning in Chinese".
Sweet dreams and other bedtime phrases
- 我去睡觉了，晚安。wǒqùshuìjiàole,wǎn’ānI'm off to bed, good night
- 我困了，想睡觉。wǒkùnle,xiǎngshuìjiàoI'm sleepy, I want to go to bed
- 宝贝，该睡觉了。bǎobèi,gāishuìjiàolesweetie, time for bed
- 做个好梦。zuògehǎomèngsweet dreams
- 早点休息。zǎodiǎnxiūxiget some rest, go to bed early
睡觉 is "to sleep, to go to bed". In Chinese you don't "have" a dream, you "make" one: , literally "make a dream". Hence the wish 做个好梦, "make a good dream". means sleepy, eyes closing; tired after a long day at work is 累. And 早点休息, "rest early", is a caring way to end an evening conversation: you can say it to your parents or to a colleague, for whom 晚安 would sound too homey. The word is useful during the day too.
How to reply to 晚安
With the same word: 晚安, 晚安. You can add when you'll see each other: . In messages, close friends and couples often shorten the wish to a single character, 安. Other ways to say goodbye are on the page "Goodbye in Chinese".
Common mistakes
The first is greeting people with 晚安 in the evening: it is only a goodbye. The second is running the syllables together into "wanan": the word becomes hard to recognize. The third is saying both syllables on the same flat pitch. Keep the first one low and the second one high, as if your voice takes a step up.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “good night” in Chinese?
“Good night” in Chinese is 晚安, in pinyin wǎnān.
How do you pronounce 晚安?
晚安 is read wǎnān. 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 night” in Chinese characters?
晚安 is 2 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 晚安 mean?
晚安 (wǎnān) means “good night”.
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