How to Say Hello in Chinese

Chinese

你好

Pinyin

nǐ hǎo

Sounds like

knee how

Read it piece by piece

你

nǐ

knee

English IPA /niː/

好

hǎo

how

English IPA /haʊ/

When to use 你好

Neutral

Say 你好 when greeting one person you do not know well or when you want a polite, neutral opening.
Native speakers often greet familiar people with a name, title, or a question instead of repeating 你好.

您好

nín hǎo

Hello, with respectful you

Polite

大家好

dà jiā hǎo

Hello everyone

Neutral group greeting

Hello, I am Li Ming.

你好，我是李明。

nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì lǐ míng

Hello, may I ask who this is?

你好，请问您是哪位？

你好，請問您是哪位？

nǐ hǎo, qǐng wèn nín shì nǎ wèi