Simplified Chinese - Lesson 1 of 156: Greetings Openings

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

你好

nǐ hǎo

Hello.

Meaning: Hello.

When to use: General greeting for most situations. For greater politeness, use 您好 (nín hǎo).

Tip: Don’t use 你好 with someone you must show formal respect to; use 您好 instead.

你好，我叫李华。

nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Lǐ Huá.

Hello, I'm Li Hua.

你好！今天你看起来很高兴。

nǐ hǎo! jīntiān nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn gāoxìng.

Hello! You seem happy today.

嗨

hāi

Hi.

Meaning: Hi.

When to use: Casual greeting among friends, classmates, or young people.

Tip: Avoid 嗨 in formal settings (boss, teacher). It’s casual.

嗨，今天晚上有空吗？

hāi, jīntiān wǎnshang yǒu kòng ma?

Hi, are you free tonight?

嗨，久不见

hāi, jiǔ bù jiàn!

Hi — long time no see!

早上好

zǎo shang hǎo

Good morning.

Meaning: Good morning.

When to use: Use in the morning; '早' is a shorter, more casual alternative.

早上好，今天我们八点开会。

zǎo shang hǎo, jīntiān wǒmen bā diǎn kāihuì.

Good morning, our meeting is at eight today.

对面那位说：早上好！

duìmiàn nà wèi shuō: zǎo shang hǎo!

The person across said: Good morning!

下午好

xià wǔ hǎo

Good afternoon.

Meaning: Good afternoon.

When to use: Use in the afternoon hours. For evening greetings use 晚上好。

下午好，我们开始上课吧。

xià wǔ hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ shàngkè ba.

Good afternoon, let's start class.

下午好，咖啡想要什么？

xià wǔ hǎo, kāfēi xiǎng yào shénme?

Good afternoon, what coffee would you like?

晚上好

wǎn shang hǎo

Good evening.

Meaning: Good evening.

When to use: Polite evening greeting. Often used in formal or service settings.

晚上好，欢迎来到我们的活动。

wǎn shang hǎo, huānyíng lái dào wǒmen de huódòng.

Good evening, welcome to our event.

到了饭馆，服务员说：晚上好！

dào le fànguǎn, fúwùyuán shuō: wǎn shang hǎo!

At the restaurant, the server said: Good evening!

你好吗

nǐ hǎo ma

How are you?

Meaning: How are you?

When to use: A basic A1 question to ask how someone is feeling. Friends may use 最近怎么样？ for more casual small talk.

你好吗？好久没见了！

nǐ hǎo ma? hǎo jiǔ méi jiàn le!

How are you? Long time no see!

早上好，你好吗？

zǎo shang hǎo, nǐ hǎo ma?

Good morning, how are you?

挺好的，谢谢

tǐng hǎo de, xiè xie

I'm good, thanks.

Meaning: I'm good, thanks.

When to use: Short, natural reply to 'How are you?'.

A: 你好吗？ B: 挺好的，谢谢。

A: nǐ hǎo ma? B: tǐng hǎo de, xiè xie.

A: How are you? B: I'm good, thanks.

我最近很忙，但挺好的，谢谢。

wǒ zuìjìn hěn máng, dàn tǐng hǎo de, xiè xie.

I've been busy recently, but I'm good, thanks.

我叫___

wǒ jiào ___

I'm ___.

Meaning: I'm ___.

When to use: Natural way to tell someone your name: 我叫 + name. Use 我是 + role or identity sometimes.

Tip: Beginner mistake: using 我是 only for names — 我是 can sound more formal or reference a role; 用我叫 to say your name.

你好，我叫王强。

nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Wáng Qiáng.

Hello, I'm Wang Qiang.

大家好，我叫小梅，很高兴认识你们。

dàjiā hǎo, wǒ jiào Xiǎo Méi, hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐmen.

Hi everyone, I'm Xiao Mei, nice to meet you.

你叫什么名字

nǐ jiào shén me míng zi

What's your name?

Meaning: What's your name?

When to use: A direct and normal question to invite someone to give their name. For more politeness use 您怎么称呼？

你叫什么名字？我叫李磊。

nǐ jiào shén me míng zi? wǒ jiào Lǐ Lěi.

What's your name? I'm Li Lei.

请介绍一下，你叫什么名字？

qǐng jièshào yí xià, nǐ jiào shén me míng zi?

Please introduce yourself — what's your name?

我可以加入吗

wǒ kě yǐ jiā rù ma

Can I join you?

Meaning: Can I join you?

When to use: Polite way to ask to join a conversation or activity. More casual: 我能一起吗？

他们正在吃饭，我可以加入吗？

tāmen zhèngzài chīfàn, wǒ kě yǐ jiā rù ma?

They're eating — can I join?

在讨论中想插话，你可以说：我可以加入吗？

zài tǎolùn zhōng xiǎng chāhuà, nǐ kěyǐ shuō: wǒ kě yǐ jiā rù ma?

If you want to join a discussion, you can say: Can I join?

你现在方便吗

Nǐ xiànzài fāngbiàn ma?

Do you have a minute?

Meaning: Do you have a minute?

When to use: A polite way to start a short interaction or ask if now is a good time. More polite: 您现在方便吗？

你现在方便吗？我有个问题想请教。

nǐ xiànzài fāngbiàn ma? wǒ yǒu gè wèntí xiǎng qǐngjiào.

Do you have a minute? I have a question to ask.

如果不方便，可以晚点再问：你现在方便吗？

rúguǒ bù fāngbiàn, kěyǐ wǎn diǎn zài wèn: nǐ xiànzài fāngbiàn ma?

If it's not a good time, you can ask later: Do you have a minute?

欢迎

Huānyíng!

Welcome.

Meaning: Welcome.

When to use: Use to greet and welcome someone into a place or group.

新同学来了，老师说：欢迎！

xīn tóngxué lái le, lǎoshī shuō: huānyíng!

A new student arrived; the teacher said: Welcome!

你进门时大家说：欢迎！

nǐ jìn mén shí dàjiā shuō: huānyíng!

When you enter, everyone says: Welcome!

今天天气不错

Jīntiān tiānqì búcuò.

Nice weather today.

Meaning: Nice weather today.

When to use: A neutral small-talk opener about the weather.

今天天气不错，我们去公园吧？

jīntiān tiānqì búcuò, wǒmen qù gōngyuán ba?

Nice weather today, shall we go to the park?

今天天气不错，适合散步。

jīntiān tiānqì búcuò, shìhé sànbù.

Nice weather today — good for a walk.

Simplified Chinese - Greetings Openings

1. Reading + Listening Practice

2. Conversational Listening Practice

3. Guided Practice

Which phrase means "Good evening"?

Which is the casual way to say "Hi"?

Which phrase asks 'Can I join you?' politely?

Which question asks if now is a good time (Do you have a minute)?

Can I join you?

Good morning.

I'm ___.

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice