How To Say Hello In Chinese And Respond (Formal + Informal)
- Written byJasmine Chiam
- Read time20 mins
- Comments0

Learning how to say “hello” in Mandarin Chinese sets the foundation for sparking friendships and connections with 1.31 billion Chinese speakers worldwide.
And yes, you read that right - approximately 16% of the world’s population speaks Chinese, making it by far the most widely spoken language in the world.
Say you intend to travel to China for a holiday getaway, wish to build a stronger rapport with your Chinese business partners, or want to impress friends and a potential date. Or perhaps you long to explore this beautiful language out of pure curiosity and enjoyment.
In any circumstance, learning to say “hello” in different ways will help to accommodate and adapt to various scenarios.
And once you’ve picked up the core basics of greeting someone using Mandarin Chinese, the possibilities are endless.
Learning to say hello to someone in Mandarin was probably the first thing you mastered from any language-learning resource or course. But there’s more depth to it than meets the eye.
Let’s explore different ways to greet someone in Mandarin Chinese, how you can respond to various greetings, and how to utilize these greetings in the proper context.
Formal vs. informal greetings
The use of formal and informal greetings may leave you a little baffled, but with some practice and experience, you’ll understand them like the back of your hand.
The formal context
Formal greetings are usually utilized when you’re addressing someone senior, your elders, individuals of high status, respected figures, customers, and even strangers you’re meeting for the first time.
Just like how you wouldn’t strut into a job interview and greet the CEO of the company with a casual “What’s up?”, the same logic can be applied when deliberating the use of formal and informal greetings.
You’ll typically hear formal greetings being passed around during business meetings, especially if an influential or high-ranking person is in the room (or Zoom).
Other times, you’ll hear people in the service industry use formal greetings with customers.
When used in the proper context, formal greetings will convey respect, admiration, and courtesy, which is fantastic if you want to start the relationship off on the right foot.
Additionally, when you find yourself in formal circumstances, you may wish to greet in order of seniority, with the most senior person taking precedence. And if you’d like to score extra brownie points, be sure to top off your greeting with a warm handshake, inviting smile, and just the right amount of eye contact.
While bowing may be a popular gesture of respect in Japan and Korea, it is less common in China. However, you may receive a slight bow or polite nod as a greeting—be sure to return it.
Nonetheless, the handshake is currently the most popular way of ‘breaking the ice’ in formal settings.
The informal context
On the other hand, using formal greetings with close friends and your immediate family may come off as awkward and possibly, hostile.
You’ve probably come across the most famous greeting, 你好 (nǐ hǎo). You may be shocked (or not) to know that this is a more formal way of greeting a person in Chinese and is rarely put to use by native speakers.
Common ways to greet someone in Mandarin Chinese (and how to respond])
There’s no harm in learning more than one way to say “hello” in Mandarin Chinese.
Truth be told, you’ll probably put these greetings to good use.
Let’s explore the different ways you can say “hello” in Chinese, including how to use them in the correct context. The Hanyu pinyin and simplified Chinese characters for each greeting have also been included to supplement your learning.
你好 (nǐ hǎo)
English meaning: “Hello.”
This greeting has made it into every Chinese textbook, podcast, online course, and language-learning app.