It’s important to know how to greet people and respond in Mandarin.
The 1-2-3 challenge
Join Scottish pupils as they give Mandarin a go!
Listen and guess what they are saying before trying yourself.
BOY: Nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo ma?
GIRL 1: Wǒ hěn hǎo.
GIRL 2: Wǒ fēi cháng hǎo.
GIRL 3: Wǒ bù tài hǎo.
Tip: This video can be used as an interactive introduction to this topic or as a recap on key vocabulary and phrases already learnt.
Remember!
It doesn't matter if your pronunciation isn't perfect. Try your best and have fun!
'Hello'
A common way to say ‘hello’ in Mandarin is Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. nĭ hăo.
In China, people often greet each other with:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Nǐ chī le ma? - Have you eaten yet?
Your greeting might also change depending on the time of day:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. or Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | zǎo shang hǎo or zǎo ān | good morning |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. or Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | xià wǔ hǎo or wǔ ān | good afternoon |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | wǎn ān | good night |
'How are you?'
To ask a person how they are feeling in Mandarin, you can use:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Nĭ hăo ma? - How are you? or You good?
Here are some answers in Mandarin that you could try:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | fēi cháng hǎo | great |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | hěn hǎo | very good |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | hǎo | good |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | bù tài hǎo | not so good |
To be polite, you can thank them for asking with Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. xiè xie (thank you).
You can then return the question with Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Nǐ ne? (And you?)
'Goodbye'
You can finish any conversation in Mandarin with a simple Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. zài jiàn (goodbye).
Conversation time
Now you've learnt how to talk about yourself in Mandarin, let's put it into a conversation!
Tom: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Nǐ hǎo! Nĭ hăo ma? - Hello! How are you?
Mary: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne? - I'm very good. And you?
Tom: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Wǒ fēi cháng hǎo, xiè xie ! - I'm great, thank you!
Mary: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Zài jiàn - Goodbye!
Tom: Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Zài jiàn - Goodbye!
Have a conversation with a partner
You can use the conversation above and phrases in this guide to help you.
Give it a go and have fun!
Take your learning further
To practice what you've learnt check out our greetings song in Mandarin.
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