(nǐ hǎo) - hello, how are you in Mandarin
nǐhǎoTraditional: 你好
Translation
hello, how are you
Word origin
你好 (nǐ hǎo) 'hello' literally means 'you good', a greeting wishing the listener well. 你 is 亻'person' plus phonetic 尔; 好 joins 女 'woman' and 子 'child', an old emblem of what is good.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 你 (you) + 好 (good: 女 woman + 子 child)
Stroke order
你
好
Examples
，。
Hello, nice to meet you.
！？
Hello! How are you?
！
Hello, teacher!
，。
Hello, please take a seat.
，。
Hello, my name is Xiaoming.
你好 (nǐ hǎo) means hello, how are you. It is used as a interjection in everyday Mandarin speech.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(8)Grammar articles
(5)Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
你好: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "你好" (hello, how are you): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 4.