你好

你好

Chinese

Chinese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonality.

		you	good; well; be fond of
simp. and trad. (你好)		你	好
variant forms		汝好 Min

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): nǐ hǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄠˇ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic): ни хо (ni ho, III-III)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nei⁵ hou²

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ngì-hó / nì-hó / ǹ-hó / ǹg-hó
• Min Dong (BUC): nṳ̄ hō̤
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): lí hó / lí hó / lír hó / lú hó

  (Teochew, Peng'im): le² ho² / lu² ho²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: nǐ hǎo [Phonetic: níhǎo]
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄠˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nii hao
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nǐ hǎo
    • IPA ^(key): /ni˨˩˦꜔꜒ xɑʊ̯˨˩˦꜕꜖⁽꜕꜖꜓⁾/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic: ни хо (ni ho, III-III)
    • IPA ^(key): /niː˦ xɔː˦/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)
    • Jyutping: nei⁵ hou²
    • Yale: néih hóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nei⁵ hou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: néi⁵ hou²
    • IPA ^(key): /nei̯˩˧ hou̯˧˥/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 你好 您好

• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngì-hó / nì-hó / ǹ-hó
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngiˇ ho` / niˇ ho` / nˇ ho`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngi<sup>2</sup> ho<sup>3</sup> / ni<sup>2</sup> ho<sup>3</sup> / n<sup>2</sup> ho<sup>3</sup>
    • IPA: /ɲi˩ ho˧˩/, /ni˩ ho˧˩/, /n˩ ho˧˩/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngì-hó / ǹg-hó / ǹ-hó
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngiˇ ho` / ngˇ ho` / nˇ ho`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngi² ho³ / ng² ho³ / n² ho³
    • IPA: /ɲi˩ ho˧˩/, /ŋ̍˩ ho˧˩/, /n˩ ho˧˩/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: nṳ̄ hō̤
    • IPA ^(key): /nˡy˧ ho˧/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí hó
    • Tâi-lô: lí hó
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lie hoir
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /li˥˧꜓꜓ ho˥˧/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /li˦˩꜓꜓ hɤ˦˩/
  • (Hokkien: Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí hó
    • Tâi-lô: lí hó
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lie hoir
    • IPA (Jinjiang, Philippines): /li˥˥˦ ho˥˥˦/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lír hó
    • Tâi-lô: lír hó
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lɯ˥˥˦ ho˥˥˦/
  • (Hokkien: Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lú hó
    • Tâi-lô: lú hó
    • Phofsit Daibuun: luo hoir
    • IPA (Taipei): /lu˥˧꜓꜓ ho˥˧/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: le² ho² / lu² ho²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lṳ́ hó / lú hó
    • IPA ^(key): /lɯ⁵²⁻³⁵ ho⁵²/, /lu⁵²⁻³⁵ ho⁵²⁻²¹/

Interjection

你好

1. hello; hi

   你好，好久不見。 / 你好，好久不见。  ―  Nǐ hǎo, hǎojiǔbùjiàn.  ―  Hi, long time no see.

Usage notes

Often used as a polite way of getting someone's attention.

Derived terms

你好嗎／你好吗 (nǐ hǎo ma)

你好無／你好无

Descendants

• → Japanese: 你好 (ニイハオ) (nīhao)

See also

• 好 (hǎo, “good (often used in greetings)”)
• 您好 (nín hǎo, “hello (polite)”)
• 你們好／你们好 (nǐmen hǎo, “hello (to a group)”)
• 喂 (wéi, “hello (on the phone)”)
• 幸會／幸会 (xìnghuì)
• 哈囉／哈啰 (hāluó) (from "hello")
• 嗨 (hāi) (from "hi")
• (Wu) 儂好／侬好
• (Cantonese, informal) 哈佬 (hālǎo) (from "hello")

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
你	好
にい Hyōgaiji	はお Grade: 4
Irregular

Etymology

From modern Mandarin 你好 (nǐ hǎo, “hello”).

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) ニ​イハオ [níꜜìhàò] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [ɲ̟iːha̠o̞]

Interjection

你好 (katakana ニイハオ, katakana ニーハオ, rōmaji nīhao)

1. (informal, rare) hi, hello (in a Chinese context)
   • 1967, リービ英雄, 我的中国, Page 221

     「你好 (ニーハオ)」と僧 (そう)はすこし驚 (おどろ)いた表 (ひょう)情 (じょう)で答 (こた)えた。

     “Nīhao” to sō wa sukoshi odoroita hyōjō de kotaeta.

     The monk said "Nihao", looking a little surprised

   • 1985, 山崎豊子, ”虱”だらけの指導者・胡耀邦 in 『山崎豊子全集19 大地の子（一）』, 2005, Page 605

     小 (しょう)学 (がっ)校 (こう)帰 (がえ)りの赤 (あか)いスカーフを胸 (むな)もとに巻 (ま)いた児 (じ)童 (どう)たちに出 (で)会 (あ)い、你好 (ニイハオ)！と声 (こえ)をかけると、どこでも你好 (ニイハオ)！と挨 (あい)拶 (さつ)が返 (かえ)って来 (く)る

     Shōgakkō gaeri no akai sukāfu o munamoto ni maita jidō tachi ni deai, nīhao! to koe o kakeru to, doko demo nīhao! to aisatsu ga kaette kuru

     When I meet children who wear a red neckerchief on their chest and say nihao to them, wherever it is, they return a greeting of nihao to me

   • 1987, 鈴木孝雄, 異文化融合と民族性と…… in 『公明』, 1987, No. 7, Page 99

     「你好 (ニイハオ)」と声 (こえ)をかけたら「你好 (ニイハオ)」と顔 (かお)をあげた。「みかけない顔 (かお)だ、どこから来 (き)たか」「日 (に)本 (ほん)から来 (き)た」

     “Nīhao” to koe o kaketara “nīhao” to kao o ageta. “Mikakenai kao da, doko kara kita ka” “Nihon kara kita”

     "Nihao," I talked to him. "Nihao", he said, looking up at me, "I haven't seen you around here. Where are you from?" - "I came from Japan."

Synonyms

• こんにちは (konnichi wa)

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN