Chinese Greetings: 15 Ways to Greet Someone at Any Time of Day

沉浸 TeamAugust 6, 20264 min read

Chinese greetings go far beyond 你好. If you only have a minute, these five will cover most situations:

你好 (nǐ hǎo): hello. The standard all-purpose greeting.
早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo): good morning. Often shortened to just 早 (zǎo).
下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo): good afternoon.
晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo): good evening (a hello, not a goodbye).
大家好 (dàjiā hǎo): hello, everyone. For greeting a group.

Below you'll find the full set: time-of-day greetings, situational ones like "long time no see," the famous "have you eaten?" question, and how to greet teachers and elders politely. This article is part of our essential Chinese phrases guide, and if you want a deep dive on 你好 itself, we cover it in Hello in Chinese.

Time-of-day greetings in Chinese

These work just like "good morning" and "good evening" in English: the time of day plus 好 (hǎo, good).

早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo): good morning. Used until about 10 a.m.
早 (zǎo): morning! The short, friendly version, like calling out "morning!" to a coworker. Very common.
中午好 (zhōngwǔ hǎo): good midday. Less common, but you'll hear it around lunchtime.
下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo): good afternoon.
晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo): good evening. Say it when you arrive somewhere in the evening.

晚上好 vs. 晚安: don't mix these up

晚安 (wǎn'ān) means "good night," and it's only for leaving or going to sleep. It ends the evening, it doesn't start it.

So: walk into a dinner party, say 晚上好. Head to bed, say 晚安. If you greet your host with 晚安, it sounds like you're announcing bedtime at the door.

Situational greetings

These are the greetings native speakers reach for once a conversation is more than a quick hello.

好久不见 (hǎojiǔ bújiàn): long time no see. Warm and friendly after any gap, whether it's been three weeks or three years.
最近怎么样? (zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?): how have you been lately? This is the everyday "how are you," and it invites a real answer.
吃了吗? (chī le ma?): have you eaten? A classic friendly greeting (more on this below).
幸会 (xìnghuì): a pleasure to meet you. Formal and a little old-school, good for business settings.
认识你很高兴 (rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng): nice to meet you. The standard first-meeting phrase, polite but not stiff.

The culture behind 吃了吗 (have you eaten?)

吃了吗 puzzles a lot of learners: why is "have you eaten?" a greeting? The habit comes from times when food wasn't a given, so asking about someone's meal was a genuine way to show care. Today it works like "how's it going?"

Nobody expects a food report. Answer 吃了 (chī le, "I've eaten") and move on, even if you're starving. You'll hear it most from older speakers and in smaller towns; among city friends, 最近怎么样 is more common.

Greeting teachers, elders, and groups politely

For anyone you'd address respectfully, Chinese has two upgrades over plain 你好:

您好 (nín hǎo): hello (polite). 您 is the respectful "you," used for elders, teachers, and customers.
Title + 好: greet people by their role. Students say 老师好 (lǎoshī hǎo, "hello, teacher"), or with a surname, 王老师好 (hello, Teacher Wang). The same pattern works with other titles, like 叔叔好 for a family friend's "uncle."

And when you're facing more than one person, 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo, "hello, everyone") opens a class, a meeting, or a video. It's how nearly every Chinese vlogger starts talking.

One small habit that earns a lot of goodwill: greet the most senior person first. In a room with a teacher and classmates, 老师好 comes before anything else.

Frequently asked questions

How do you greet someone in Chinese?

你好 (nǐ hǎo) works everywhere. To be polite, use 您好 (nín hǎo). With friends, a casual 嗨 (hāi), a quick 早 in the morning, or a question like 最近怎么样 feels more natural than a formal hello.

What is good morning in Mandarin?

早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo). Between coworkers, classmates, and friends, it's usually shortened to just 早 (zǎo).

Does 晚上好 mean good night?

No. 晚上好 (wǎnshang hǎo) is "good evening," a hello when you arrive. Good night is 晚安 (wǎn'ān), and it's only for leaving or heading to bed.

Why do Chinese people ask "have you eaten" as a greeting?

吃了吗 (chī le ma) grew out of an era when a full meal wasn't guaranteed, so asking showed you cared. Now it's friendly small talk. The expected answer is simply 吃了 ("I've eaten").

Not sure your tones on zǎoshang hǎo sound right? Sign up for a free Chenjin account and try the Tone Coach: record yourself, see your pitch curve next to a native speaker's, and fix your tones one syllable at a time.