How to Say Hello in Chinese

“How do you say hello in Chinese?”  Pretty simply, in Mandarin Chinese, it’s Nĭ Hăo, but you’ll want to watch the video so that you say the tones correctly!  Also, don’t be fooled by the PinYin system of pronunciation for Mandarin.  “Nĭ hăo,” is pronounced as “knee how” (you’ll see more of what is meant below).

How to Say Hello in Chinese Video

Learning how to say hello in Chinese is the first step to learning Chinese!  With this brief phrase, you can start to learn Chinese so that you can meet others and introduce yourself!

Once you can say hello in Chinese, you’ve taken your first step toward successfully communicating in the language!  Way to go!  Don’t forget that when you say hello in Chinese, you’ll be making new friends around the globe!  (Then, you can also learn how to say hello in Chinese in the polite form).

In the future, you might consider learning some about the Chinese PinYin system so that you can read virtually any word in Chinese!  It takes a little bit of effort, but it’s well worth it in the long run!  Having the freedom to express yourself clearly in another language is definitely the goal in learning PinYin.

Short Way to Say Hello in Chinese

For those of you who were wondering if there was any variable on the “Hello” in Chinese, you might want to consider how to say hi in Chinese (visit this page for greater detail).  First, of course, you could just use hello instead.  But, if you really want to know “Hi” then there are two varieties that sound very similar.

• The first is “Wèi” (pronounced “way”) said with the falling tone or fourth tone.  That means that your voice will start just slightly higher than the pitch of your normal speaking voice and then will gradually drop to a lower tone over time.  (For more information on tones, see Mastering Chinese Tones).  This is a very informal way to address people and should probably only be used with your closest of friends.

• The second way to say “Hi” in Chinese is “Wĕi” (pronounced “way” also), but is said only in an informal way when answering the telephone.  This is usually the first greeting that you hear when you make a call to a Chinese friend.  ALSO, please note that it is said with a falling and rising third tone which means that you begin with your normal speaking voice, lower the pitch, and then raise the pitch slightly over time.

So, in review, if you want to know, “How do you say hi in Chinese?” then chose one of the two options above.  Of course, actually saying hello in Chinese is the preferred method, but “HI” will get you by in a pinch.  Knowing how to say hello in Chinese to everyone that you meet so that you can put into practice what you have learned right away!  Otherwise, you run the risk of forgetting how to speak Chinese altogether!