| 你好﹗ ni2 hao3
|
"Hello!" (Familiar -- used with friends, colleagues, equals and inferiors. Not time-specific, can be used throughout the day. Notice how 你 is pronounced here with the 2nd tone because it is followed by 好 hao3) |
| 喂 ﹗ wei4 哎﹗ ai1
|
"Hi!", "Yo!" (Very familiar -- used with close friends. The former is also used in telephone conversations as the equivalent of "Hello!" in which case it is considered polite enough.) |
| 您好 ﹗ nin2 hao3
|
"Good (morning/afternoon/evening), Sir!" (Polite -- used with seniors, strangers. Not time-specific, can be used throughout the day.) When greeting your teacher (who unlike his/her Western counterpart is held in high reverence), you can say 老師好﹗ "Lao3 shi1 hao3!" 老 "lao3" (meaning "old") here is a term of respect. In Chinese world being old is an advantage and guarantees higher social status -- once again, quite contrary to the Western practice. |
| 大家好﹗ da4 jia1 hao3
|
"Hello, everybody!" (Neutral. Not time-specific, can be used throughout the day.) |
| 各位朋友您們好! ge4 wei4 peng2 you nin2 men hao3 |
"Good (morning/afternoon/evening), dear friends!" The Chinese use 朋友peng2 you more often than "friend" is used in English. (Used when addressing an audience. 位 wei4 is a polite counter suffix (quantifier) for persons. Not time-specific, can be used throughout the day.) |
| 位來賓您們好﹗ ke4 wei4 lai2 bin1 nin2 men hao3
|
"Good (morning/afternoon/evening), respected guests!" (Formal -- used when addressing an audience, a group of guests or customers. 位 wei4 is a polite counter suffix (quantifier) for persons. Not time-specific, can be used throughout the day.) |
| 你早﹗ ni2 zao3 早上好﹗zao3 shang hao3
|
"Good morning!" (The former is widely used in Taiwan, while the latter is more common in Mainland China.) |
| 午安﹗ wu3 an1
|
"Good afternoon!" (Not very common.) |
| 晚上好﹗wan3 shang hao3
|
"Good evening!" (Not very common.) |
| 晚安﹗ wan3 an1 早點睡吧﹗ zao3 dien3 shui4 ba
|
"Good night!" |
