Greeting in Chinese

1. The most plain and simple way to say “Hello”:

This is the first phrase you will probably learn to speak in Chinese.

 你好 (nǐ hǎo) – Hello

 您好 (nín hǎo) – Hello
您 (nín) is used when addressing someone older or in a respected
position, whether at work or in the family. It is usually seen as a more formal
way to say ‘Hello’.
 大家好 | Dàjiā hǎo | Hello everybody!
If you're looking for a way to greet a group of people, you've found it in “大
家好” (dàjiā hǎo). 大家 means “everybody” or “everyone” in Chinese, so
this greeting literally means “hello everybody.”
2. Greet for Different Times of Day
 早上好（Zǎo shàng hǎo）
 早安（Zǎo ān）
 早（Zǎo）

They all mean “good morning”. 早 means “morning,” which is the simplest
way to wish someone a good morning.

 中午好（Zhōng wǔ hǎo.）- means “good noon”

 下午好（Xià wǔ hǎo.）- means “good afternoon”

 晚上好（Wǎn shàng hǎo.）- means “good evening“
3. Greet People that you Haven’t Seen in a While and More

 How have you been recently? 最近怎么样啊？（Zuì jìn zěn me yàng

a?）
 Everything still good lately? 最近还好吗？ zuìjìn hái hǎo ma
 What were you doing recently? 最近干什么呢？ (zuì jìn gàn shén
me ne?)
 Long time no see. 好久不见。（Hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn）
 What are you doing? 干嘛呢？（Gàn má ne）
 How are you? 你好吗？ （Nǐ hǎo ma）
  What’s up? 最近有什么新鲜事吗？(Zuì jìn yǒu shén me xīn xiān shì
ma?)

4. Unique Ways of Saying Hello from Chinese Culture

That is the common way to ask ‘How are you?’ but more natural and
closely.

 你吃饭了吗？ Nĭ chī fàn le ma? – Have you eaten yet? / Did you eat?
吃了吗?（chī le ma）
 要去哪啊？（yào qù nǎ a）- Where are you going?
These ways of greeting can make Chinese people feel warmth and
friendliness from you since they’re very native ways to greet.

5. Say “Hi” in Chinese in different forms:

These Chinese sayings are often used between young people. The Chinese
words here are only translated in Chinese from English based on their
pronunciations, thus they’re not a formal way to greet.
Here are some more natural ways to greet people you know well:

 Hi: 嗨。(hai)
 Hello: 哈喽。（hā lóu）
 Hey: 嘿。（hēi）/诶 (Èi)

Greeting in English
1. Informal Greetings

Informal situation is used when the speakers and listeners have known
each before, they can use informal greetings to greet each other such as:
 Hi!, Hey, Heya or Hey there!
 Morning! / Evening! + title/ first name
 What’s new? / How are things? (This is one of the more casual
greeting phrases used in an exchange or with someone you haven’t
talked to in a while.).
 It’s good to see you (It is used when you haven’t seen someone in a
while.
 What’s up?
 How’s it going?
  What’s happening?
 Yo! (Another one of the simplest greetings words you can use).

2. Formal Greetings

Formal situations is used when the speakers and listeners meet each other for
the first time.

 Hello!
 Hi there (This is a slightly less formal way to say hello, but still
more appropriate than using “hey”)
 Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening.
 It’s nice to meet you / It’s a pleasure to meet you. (Just don’t say
this one to someone you’ve met three times before).

3. Example

(Jim meets his classmate in class, he greets. Let’s listen his phrase)

Jim: Hi, Tom

Tom: Hey!

=> Looking at this comservation, we see that in the informal situation

(class) . Jim and Tom use the phrases "hi", "hey" to greet each other