你好 Greetings in Chinese

今天jīntiān上午shàngwǔ，我wǒ看见kànjiàn老师lǎoshī，我wǒ说shuō：“老师lǎoshī好hǎo！”

This morning, I see my teacher and say, "Good morning, teacher!"

在zài学校xuéxiào，我wǒ看见kànjiàn同学tóngxué，我们wǒmen说shuō：“你好nǐ hǎo！”

At school, I see my classmate, and we say, "Hello!"

中午zhōngwǔ，我wǒ看见kànjiàn医生yīshēng，我wǒ说shuō：“你好nǐ hǎo，你nǐ好hǎo吗ma？”

At noon, I see the doctor and say, "Hello, how are you?"

医生yīshēng说shuō：“我wǒ很hěn好hǎo，谢谢xièxie！”

The doctor says, "I'm very good, thank you!"

下午xiàwǔ，我wǒ看见kànjiàn先生xiānshēng和hé小姐xiǎojiě，我们wǒmen说shuō：“你好nǐ hǎo！”

In the afternoon, I see a man and a woman, and we say, "Hello!"

现在xiànzài，我wǒ回huí家jiā，我wǒ说shuō：“妈妈māma，再见zàijiàn！”

Now, I go home and say, "Mom, goodbye!"

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

你好nǐ hǎohello

老师lǎoshīteacher

同学tóngxuéclassmate

看见kànjiànto see

再见zàijiàngoodbye

谢谢xièxiethank you

你好 — the everyday greeting

你好 (literally "you good") is the all-purpose way to say "hello" to anyone.

你好！ — Hello!

person + 好 — greeting a specific person

Put 好 right after a title or name to greet that person, like 老师好 ("hello, teacher").

老师好！ — Hello, teacher!

你好吗？ — asking how someone is

Adding 吗 after 你好 turns the greeting into a question asking how the other person is doing.

你好，你好吗？ — Hello, how are you?

1. What does the narrator say to the teacher in the morning?

2. What does the doctor say about how they feel?

3. What does the narrator say to mom in the evening?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.