How to say “hello” in Chinese

您好
nínhǎo

hello (polite)

expression · not in the HSK lists · topic “Meeting people”

“Hello” in Chinese is 您好, nín hǎo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

您好 is read nín hǎo: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

nín — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”
hǎo — 3rd tonelow, dipping and rising a little

How to write it

您
nín — you (polite)

你 “you” with 心 “heart” below: “you” said with respect.

好
hǎo — good, well

女 “woman” and 子 “child” side by side: “good”.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “您好”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 您好. Tap the sound icon to listen.

  • 您好,您要订房间吗?nínhǎo,nínyàodìngfángjiānmaHello, would you like to book a room?
  • 您好,您贵姓?nínhǎo,nínguìxìngHello, may I ask your surname?
  • 您好,这里是客服,请问有什么可以帮您?nínhǎo,zhèlǐshìkèfú,qǐngwènyǒushénmekěyǐbāngnínHello, customer support. How can I help you?
  • 您好,这是我的名片。nínhǎo,zhèshìwǒdemíngpiànHello, here's my business card.
  • 您好,请问几位用餐?nínhǎo,qǐngwènjǐwèiyòngcānHello, how many of you will be dining?

More words from the lesson “Hi and bye”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “hello” in Chinese?

“Hello” in Chinese is 您好, pinyin nín hǎo.

What does 您好 mean?

您好 (nín hǎo) means “hello (polite)”.

How do you write 您好?

您好 is 2 characters: 您 (nín) — you (polite); 好 (hǎo) — good, well. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 您好?

您好 is read nín hǎo. Tones: nín — second tone, hǎo — third tone. The page has an audio recording.

“hello” in the lesson “Hi and bye”

This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of level 1 of the course. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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