Chinese Greetings
The 26 greetings and polite phrases you actually need, with pinyin, audio and when to use each.
Hear it, then test your tones
Take the free 3–5-minute pronunciation test and get a score for every tone.
The universal greeting — safe with anyone, any time of day.
Respectful form for elders, teachers, customers.
Opening a talk or entering a group.
Before ~10am; colleagues often just say 早 (zǎo).
Greeting after dark — not a goodbye.
Only when someone is going to sleep.
The standard goodbye — literally "see again".
Casual, borrowed from English; very common.
When you expect to meet again soon, same day.
Between classmates and colleagues at day’s end.
Everyday thanks; reply with 不客气.
Standard reply to 谢谢 — literally "don’t be polite".
A real apology; for "excuse me" use 不好意思.
Mild apology — interrupting, squeezing past, small favors.
Reply to an apology — "no problem".
Polite opener before any question to a stranger.
Warm greeting after a long gap — the English phrase is a loan from Chinese.
Casual catch-up question between friends.
Traditional friendly greeting — an idiom, not a dinner invitation.
Welcoming a guest; shops say 欢迎光临.
After being introduced for the first time.
All-purpose encouragement — literally "add fuel".
For good news; doubled as 恭喜恭喜 in celebration.
Both January 1st and Chinese New Year.
Sung to the same melody as the English song.
Host to departing guest — literally "walk slowly".
Say it for Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, the start of the Year of the Goat. These are the greetings you will hear and say most, with the tone that trips learners up in each. Tap the speaker to hear one, then record yourself and get a score for every tone.
Happy New Year
High-level 新, rising 年, then two clean falls: 快 and 乐 both start high. Don’t let 乐 go neutral.
Full page: 新年快乐 →Wishing you prosperity
喜 is a low third tone: keep it low, don’t make it rise. 发 is high and level, 财 rises. “Gong hei fat choy” is the Cantonese version.
Full page: 恭喜发财 →Happy Spring Festival
Two high-level syllables in a row: hold 新 and 春 at the same height, then fall twice.
May everything go your way
Fall, fall, rise, fall. 事 needs a full fall from high, and 如 must rise before 意 drops again.
Good health
体 is a third tone before a fourth, so only its low part is said. 康 ends high and level, not falling.
Good luck in the Year of the Goat
2027 is the Year of the Goat (羊). 羊 and 年 both rise, so give each its own rise rather than one long slide.
Take the New Year tone challenge: five greetings, one score to share →
Greetings are the highest-value words in any language: tiny, endlessly reused, and the first impression you make. Mandarin adds two twists — the polite 您 (nín) form for elders and customers, and greetings that are really idioms, like 你吃了吗 ("have you eaten?"), which is a warm hello, not a dinner invitation.
Every phrase here carries pinyin, a usage note and audio. Pay attention to the tones on 你好: it is two third tones, so it is actually pronounced *ní hǎo* — the first one rises. That sandhi change is exactly the kind of detail the TonePerfect app checks when you record yourself.
What is the difference between 你好 and 您好?
您 (nín) is the respectful "you" — use 您好 with elders, teachers, customers and strangers you want to honor. 你好 is the neutral default with peers.
Do Chinese people actually say 你好?
To strangers, yes. Between friends it is more natural to greet by name, with 嘿, or with a situational question like 吃了吗 or 去哪儿 — see the phrases in this list marked casual.
How do I pronounce 你好 correctly?
Two third tones in a row: the first becomes rising, so say ní hǎo, not nǐ hǎo. Play the audio and copy the contour, then record yourself in the app to check.
More free tools
Test your pronunciation
Free, with a score for every word.
Free · 3–5 minutes · no signup
How good is your Chinese pronunciation, really?
Reading about tones is not the same as producing them. Say a few words into your mic and the AI scores every syllable — tone, initial and final — then shows you which sounds are holding you back.
Runs in your browser. Nothing to install.
Train, don't just read
Practice your pronunciation in the app
A guide can explain the tones, but you can't fix your pronunciation by reading. The TonePerfect app lets you actually say the words and scores every syllable — initial, final, and tone — in real time, so you hear your mistakes and correct them on the spot.
- Instant AI feedback on every syllable
- Practice any word, sentence, or HSK list
- Hands-on tone training you can't get from reading
Free to start · 4.7★ · 50,000+ learners