Chinese
嗨
Pinyin
hāi
Sounds like
heye
Read it piece by piece
嗨
hāi
heye
English IPA /heye/
Mandarin phrase guide
How to say hi in Chinese
嗨 is a casual, friendly greeting borrowed from the English word 'hi'. Use it with friends and people your age; choose 你好 in neutral or formal situations.
When to use 嗨
Casual- Use 嗨 when opening a relaxed conversation, especially in messages or among younger speakers.
- In a shop, workplace, or first meeting, 你好 is usually a safer greeting.
Other ways to say it
你好
nǐ hǎo
Hello
Neutral
哈喽
哈囉
hā lou
Hello; a playful transliteration
Very casual
Example conversations
Hi, long time no see!
嗨，好久不见！
嗨，好久不見！
hāi, hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn
Hi, are you free today?
嗨，你今天有空吗？
嗨，你今天有空嗎？
hāi, nǐ jīn tiān yǒu kòng ma
Common mistakes
- Do not use 嗨 as the default greeting in every formal setting; it can sound overly familiar.