Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at each of these expressions.
In the first conversation, do you remember how Mark says,
"Ms. Li, good morning."
李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)
First, Mark addresses his teacher 李老师 (Lǐ lǎoshī).
This starts with the teacher's family name, Li. 李(Lǐ). 李. 李。
After this is 老师 (lǎoshī), literally, "teacher," but here it's used as a suffix. 老师. 老师。
Together, 李老师, literally, "Li teacher," but it translates as, "Ms. Li," in this context. 李老师。
Note: when 老师 is used as a suffix the meaning will depend on the context.
The next part of the greeting is 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo), "Good Morning." 早上好。
First is 早上 (zǎoshang), "morning," to be more specific, "early morning," which is roughly the time between sunrise to 10 o'clock. 早上. 早上。
Next is 好 (hǎo), "good" 好 . 好.
Together 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo), "Good Morning." 早上好.
Altogether, 李老师，早上好。(Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.) "Ms. Li, good morning."
李老师，早上好。
Do you remember the teacher's response?
"Good morning."
早上好。 (Zǎoshang hǎo.)
She simply repeats the same greeting: 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo) "Good morning." 早上好。
Since teachers in Chinese culture have a higher social status, it's not necessary for them to address their students when greeting them.
In the second conversation, which takes place at noon, do you remember how Karen says,
"Hello, Ms. Li."
你好，李老师。 (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)
First is 你好, "hello." 你好.
There are two parts.
First is 你 "you." 你. 你.
Next is 好 "good." 好. 好.
Together, 你好, literally means "you good," but translates as "hello." 你好.
Pronunciation note: when there are two third tones in a row, the first one changes to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 你好 (Nǐ hǎo). 你好 (Nǐ hǎo).
This pronunciation change is not reflected in the pinyin, as you will still see two third tones.
Note: 你好 can be used during any time of the day, even at night.
In addition, 你好 can be used in formal settings.
Next is 李老师, "Ms. Li," in this context. 李老师.
Together, 你好，李老师。 (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.) "Hello, Ms. Li."
你好，李老师。
Now, do you remember how the teacher responds, "Hello, Karen."?
你好，凯伦。 (Nǐ hǎo, Kǎilún.)
This starts with the phrase 你好 (nǐ hǎo). "Hello." 你好. 你好。
Next is Karen's name in Chinese. 凯伦 (Kǎilún). 凯伦. 凯伦。
All together, 你好，凯伦。 (Nǐ hǎo, Kǎilún.) "Hello, Karen."
你好，凯伦。
In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 6pm, do you remember how Ben says,
"Good evening, Ms. Li."
晚上好，李老师。 (Wǎnshàng hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)
First is 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo)
The first part is 晚上 (Wǎnshàng), "evening" or "night." 晚上. 晚上。
Nexi is 好, "good." 好 (hǎo).
Together, 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好.
Then Ben addresses the teacher as 李老师 (Lǐ lǎoshī) "Ms. Li." 李老师.
All together, 晚上好，李老师。"Good evening, Ms. Li."
晚上好，李老师。
Note: in Chinese, a person's name or title can be placed either before or after the greetings. So it could be either 晚上好，李老师。 or 李老师，晚上好。
Do you remember how the teacher responds,
"Good evening, Ben."
晚上好，本。 (Wǎnshàng hǎo, Běn.)
First is 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好 (Wǎnshàng hǎo)
This is the same as Ben's greeting.
Next is Ben's name in Chinese. 本 (Běn). 本. 本.
晚上好，本。 (Wǎnshàng hǎo, Běn.)
In Chinese greetings, 好 (hǎo), good, follows the time of the day, as in 早上好。 (Zǎoshang hǎo.), "Good morning."
好 (hǎo) can also follow a title, as in 老师好。 (Lǎoshī hǎo.), "Teacher, hello." or follow a name and title, such as 李老师好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī hǎo.). "Ms. Li, hello."
A title followed by 好 (hǎo) or name and title followed by 好 (hǎo) is often used to greet someone with a higher social status than the speaker, such as a teacher, supervisor, or a senior family member. This pattern sounds more polite and personal than 你好 (nǐ hǎo).

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