How to Say Hi in Mandarin Chinese Including Other Ways to Say Hello in Chinese | Rosetta Stone®

Learn how to say hi in Chinese including other ways to say hi in Mandarin that can be conversation starters.

How to say hi in Chinese is fairly straight forward. For informal settings, you’d use the Mandarin Chinese word hāi (嗨 ), which translates to “hi” or “hey.” It sounds much like the English version of “hi,” and is often used in urban settings for quick exchanges. Get more information about learning Mandarin Chinese on the Rosetta Stone blog.

If you’d like to say “hi” in Chinese and have it be more of a conversation starter, you’d go with one of the Mandarin phrases that convey open-ended questions. Gàn má ne (干嘛呢) translates to “what’s up” in Mandarin while qù nǎ er (去哪儿) is the equivalent of “where are you going.” Perhaps one of the stranger conversation starters in Chinese is nǐ chī le ma (你吃了吗) – or “Have you eaten?” which in Mandarin isn’t meant to be a literal question but is more of a “how are you.”

In China, handshakes are the preferred way to demonstrate courtesy when meeting and greeting someone, especially in more formal settings. If you’re just exchanging a quick hello on the street, a nod will do just fine and waving in greeting as you do in the western cultures is also widely used.

Want to learn more greetings and conversational basics in Mandarin?

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