Chinese Greetings and Introductions

A greeting is not a speech to recite. Its job is to buy you the next turn — the moment the other person says something back and a real conversation starts. So learn a small set: one greeting, one way to ask a name, a three-part introduction, and one question you can hand back. Everything else here is variation on those four moves.

The greetings worth memorizing first

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
你好	Nǐ hǎo	Hello (works any time of day)
您好	Nín hǎo	Hello (polite, to one person)
大家好	Dàjiā hǎo	Hello everyone
早上好	Zǎoshang hǎo	Good morning
早	Zǎo	Morning! (casual)
下午好	Xiàwǔ hǎo	Good afternoon
晚上好	Wǎnshang hǎo	Good evening
晚安	Wǎn’ān	Good night (leaving or going to bed)
好久不见	Hǎojiǔ bú jiàn	Long time no see
请问	Qǐngwèn	Excuse me — (before a question)

你好 (Nǐ hǎo), 您好 (Nín hǎo) and 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo): who gets which

你好 (Nǐ hǎo) is the safe default with one person you do not know well. 您好 (Nín hǎo) swaps in the respectful 您 (nín) and suits a client, an older person, or anyone senior to you. 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo) is for a group — opening a meeting, a class, a video call.

What textbooks under-teach is the title pattern: role + 好. Students say 老师好 (Lǎoshī hǎo) to a teacher rather than 你好, and the same shape works with any job title. It is warm, respectful and effortless — use it whenever you know the person’s role.

The 你好吗？ (Nǐ hǎo ma?) trap

你好吗？ (Nǐ hǎo ma?) is grammatical and appears in chapter one of nearly every course — which is exactly why learners over-use it. It reads as a genuine enquiry into someone’s wellbeing, so firing it at a colleague you see every morning sounds odd. What people actually open with:

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
最近怎么样？	Zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?	How’ve you been lately?
好久不见	Hǎojiǔ bú jiàn	Long time no see
你吃了吗？	Nǐ chī le ma?	Have you eaten?

你吃了吗？ (Nǐ chī le ma?) is a friendly, informal opener, common among people who know each other and with older speakers — a greeting, not a dinner invitation. Keep it out of first business meetings, where 您好 (Nín hǎo) plus a title is the right register.

Asking for a name, and giving yours

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
你叫什么名字？	Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?	What’s your name? (peers, casual)
您怎么称呼？	Nín zěnme chēnghu?	How should I address you? (polite)
您贵姓？	Nín guìxìng?	May I ask your surname? (most formal)
我叫…	Wǒ jiào…	My name is …
我姓…	Wǒ xìng…	My surname is …

您贵姓？ (Nín guìxìng?) literally asks for your honorable surname, so the set reply deflects the compliment: 免贵姓王。 (Miǎn guì xìng Wáng.) — roughly “no need for ‘honorable’, it’s Wang.” It is formulaic, which makes it easy.

Then use what you were given: surname plus title, as in 王先生 (Wáng xiānsheng) or 李女士 (Lǐ nǚshì). Among close colleagues you may hear 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) for someone younger or junior — wait until someone uses it on you before you use it on them.

A three-part introduction

Name, origin, current activity. That is the whole formula.

你好，我叫安娜。我来自英国。我在学中文。
(Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Ānnà. Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.)

Swap in your own country with the pattern 我是…人。 (Wǒ shì … rén.) — 我是英国人。 (Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.), 我是美国人。 (Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.). If your Mandarin runs out mid-sentence, 我的中文不太好。 (Wǒ de Zhōngwén bú tài hǎo.) is honest and buys goodwill. Close with 很高兴认识你。 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.); the natural reply is 我也是。 (Wǒ yě shì.)

Hand the turn back

Never end an introduction on yourself. Add one question:

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
你是哪里人？	Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?	Where are you from?
你在这儿工作吗？	Nǐ zài zhèr gōngzuò ma?	Do you work here?
你学中文多久了？	Nǐ xué Zhōngwén duō jiǔ le?	How long have you been learning Chinese?

If you lose the thread of the answer, do not nod through it — ask for a repeat. If it turns into a proper chat, small talk topics come next.

Repairing a forgotten name

A: 不好意思，我一下子想不起来你的名字了。
(Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ yíxiàzi xiǎng bu qǐlái nǐ de míngzi le.)
B: 没关系，我叫王雪。
(Méi guānxi, wǒ jiào Wáng Xuě.)
A: 王雪，谢谢你再告诉我。
(Wáng Xuě, xièxie nǐ zài gàosu wǒ.)

Saying the name back once helps you keep it and shows you were listening. 没关系 (Méi guānxi) is the standard “no problem”.

Goodbyes

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
再见	Zàijiàn	Goodbye (neutral, always fine)
拜拜	Bàibài	Bye-bye (casual, from English)
明天见	Míngtiān jiàn	See you tomorrow
回头见	Huítóu jiàn	See you later
一会儿见	Yíhuìr jiàn	See you in a bit
慢走	Màn zǒu	Take care (said by the person staying)
晚安	Wǎn’ān	Good night

慢走 (Màn zǒu) is the host’s line, not the guest’s — shopkeepers and hosts say it as you leave, and 再见 (Zàijiàn) is your reply.

Greetings in chat apps

In messaging apps, 在吗？ (Zài ma?) — “are you there?” — is common, but sending it alone and waiting is mildly annoying: it makes the other person commit before they know what you want. Put the request in the same message: greeting, then your point, in one go.

Where English speakers slip

Reaching for 你好吗？ every time. “How are you?” in English is a greeting, not a question, so it fits any encounter. 你好吗？ (Nǐ hǎo ma?) is closer to a real question. Default to 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) for hello and 最近怎么样？ (Zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?) when you actually want news.

Jumping to first names. English-speaking workplaces treat first names as friendly. In Mandarin the neutral default is surname plus title — 王先生 (Wáng xiānsheng), 李女士 (Lǐ nǚshì), 老师好 (Lǎoshī hǎo). A given name used straight away can read as over-familiar rather than warm. Ask 您怎么称呼？ (Nín zěnme chēnghu?) and use whatever you are told.

Over-thinking the time of day. English forces a choice between good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Mandarin does not: 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) is correct at any hour. The time-based greetings are pleasant optional extras, not a requirement — one less thing to get wrong.

Thirty seconds of practice

Say the three-part introduction out loud, then run three substitutions: change the country, change 我在学中文。 (Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.) to what you actually do, and change the closing question. Then say it twice — once with 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) for a peer, once with 您好 (Nín hǎo) plus a title for a client. If a tone feels shaky, check it against the pinyin guide first.

Default to 你好 (Nǐ hǎo); reserve 你好吗？ (Nǐ hǎo ma?) for when you mean it.
Name, origin, current activity — then a question straight back.
Address people by surname plus title until they tell you otherwise.

Once greetings feel automatic, core everyday phrases and the politeness levels behind 你 (nǐ) and 您 (nín) make the biggest difference next.

By the end of this chapter, you can say

我叫安娜。我来自英国。我在学中文。 (Wǒ jiào Ānnà. Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.)

Practical note for this chapter

Open a conversation, form a useful sentence, ask for clarification, and practice aloud. In this chapter, practice giving a short response and then checking what matters.

Use it in context

A: 您怎么称呼？ (Nín zěnme chēnghu?)
B: 我叫安娜。我来自英国。我在学中文。 (Wǒ jiào Ānnà. Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.)

Phrase map for this chapter

Question or situation: 您怎么称呼？ (Nín zěnme chēnghu?)
Central response: 我叫安娜。我来自英国。我在学中文。 (Wǒ jiào Ānnà. Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.)
Another natural way to say it: 我叫李安，很高兴认识您。 (Wǒ jiào Lǐ Ān, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín.); Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.
How to use it: Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

Turn the model into three conversation turns

1. Open the situation您怎么称呼？ (Nín zěnme chēnghu?)
2. Say the central response我叫安娜。我来自英国。我在学中文。 (Wǒ jiào Ānnà. Wǒ láizì Yīngguó. Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén.)
3. Add an alternative我叫李安，很高兴认识您。 (Wǒ jiào Lǐ Ān, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín.)

Before acting, check the point most likely to cause a misunderstanding. This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

A useful variation

Keep the same purpose, then change the person, time or place to make it your own.

我叫李安，很高兴认识您。 (Wǒ jiào Lǐ Ān, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

A common trap

For important details, do not decide from what you think you heard; check written information when needed.

初次见面先用“您”比较稳妥；熟悉后再按关系改用“你”。 (Chūcì jiànmiàn xiān yòng “nín” bǐjiào wěntuǒ; shúxī hòu zài àn guānxi gǎiyòng “nǐ”.)

This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

Three-step practice

Open the situation in one short phrase
Say the central response
Add one detail of your own

Chinese Greetings and Introductions — What People Actually Say