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你好 (nǐ hǎo) — hello

Definition

The standard all-purpose 'hello' for greeting people in any situation, formal or casual. 喂 is only used when answering the phone or calling attention.

phrase
hello

Examples

  • 你好，。
    nǐ hǎo, Wǒ jiào xiǎo míng.
    Hello, my name is Xiaoming.
  • 你好，？
    nǐ hǎo, Nǐ hē shuǐ ma?
    Hello, would you like some water?
  • 你好，。
    nǐ hǎo, Wǒ shì lǎo shī.
    Hello, I am a teacher.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

你nǐyou
好hǎowell

你 addresses the listener and 好 wishes them well, together forming the greeting hello.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
尔
尔ěr你nǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻 is a person, and the right part 尔 supplies the sound.

Open 你 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1Greetings & Politeness3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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