How to Use Basic Greetings - ChineseClass101

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use basic greetings in Chinese.

For example, "Hello" is

你好。(Nǐ hǎo.)

Lin Li is the Xu family's Chinese teacher.

Her schedule for the day is:

Lisa Xu at 9:00 a.m.

Anna Xu at 12:00 p.m.

Jason Xu at 6:00 p.m.

Before you listen to the greeting exchange between the three pairs, let's preview some of its key components.

早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo.)

"good morning"

早上好

你好 (Nǐ hǎo)

"hello"

你好

晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo)

"good evening"

晚上好

Listen to their conversations, and pay attention to the time of day.

Lín Lǐ has a morning class with Lisa Xu at 9 a.m.

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

早上好。 (Zǎoshang hǎo.)

Later, Lín Lǐ has an afternoon class with Anna Xu at 12 p.m.

你好，李老师。 (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

你好，安娜。 (Nǐ hǎo, Ānnà.)

At the end of the day, Lín Lǐ has an evening class with Jason Xu at 6 p.m.

晚上好，李老师。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

晚上好，杰森。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Jiésēn.)

Once more with the English translation.

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

"Ms. Li, good morning."

早上好。 (Zǎoshang hǎo.)

"Good morning."

你好，李老师。 (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

"Hello, Ms. Li."

安娜, 你好。 (Ānnà, nǐhǎo.)

"Hello, Anna."

晚上好，李老师。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

"Good evening, Ms. Li."

晚上好，杰森。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Jiésēn.)

"Good evening, Jason."

Let's break down each of the expressions.

In the first conversation, do you remember how Lisa says,

"Ms. Li, good morning."

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

First, Lisa addresses her 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 (Lǐ lǎoshī), literally, "Li teacher," but it translates as, "Ms. Li," in this context. 李老师。

Note: when 老师 (lǎoshī) 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."

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 Anna 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 (nǐ), "you." 你 . 你.

Next is 好 (hǎo), "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 (nǐ hǎo) can be used during any time of the day, even at night.

In addition, 你好 (nǐ hǎo) can be used in formal settings.

Next is 李老师 (Lǐ lǎoshī), "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, Anna"?

你好，安娜。 (Nǐ hǎo, Ānnà.)

This starts with the phrase 你好 (nǐ hǎo). "Hello." 你好 . 你好。

Next is Anna's name in Chinese. 安娜 (Ānnà). 安娜 . 安娜。

All together, 你好，安娜。 (Nǐ hǎo, Ānnà.)

"Hello, Anna." 你好，安娜。

In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 6pm, do you remember how Jason says,

"Good evening, Ms. Li."

晚上好，李老师。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

First is 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo)

The first part is 晚上 (Wǎnshang), "evening" or "night." 晚上 . 晚上。

Nexi is 好 (hǎo), "good." 好.

Together, 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好.

Then Jason addresses the teacher as 李老师 (Lǐ lǎoshī) "Ms. Li." 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 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī) or 李老师，晚上好 (Lǐ lǎoshī, Wǎnshang hǎo).

Do you remember how the teacher responds,

"Good evening, Jason."

晚上好，杰森。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Jiésēn.)

First is 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo), "Good evening." 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo)

This is the same as Jason's greeting.

Next is Jason's name in Chinese. 杰森 (Jiésēn). 杰森 . 杰森.

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 (Lǐlǎoshī 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 (nǐhǎo).

Let’s look at the greetings once more.

Listen and repeat, or speak along with the native speaker.

早上好。(Zǎoshang hǎo).

“Good morning.”

早上好。(Zǎoshang hǎo).

你好。(Nǐ hǎo).

“Hello.”

你好。(Nǐ hǎo).

晚上好。(Wǎnshang hǎo).

“Good evening.”

晚上好。(Wǎnshang hǎo).

你好，李老师。(Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.).

“Hello, Ms. Li.”

你好，李老师。(Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

早。(Zǎo).

“Morning.”

早。(Zǎo).

Did you notice the last greeting where the native speaker used a shortened version of “Good morning?”

早。(Zǎo.) "Morning." 早 . 早.

早 is a shortened, and more casual, way to say 早上好。 "Good morning."

You should be aware of this shortened greeting, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say “good morning?”

早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo)

And how Lisa says,

"Ms. Li, good morning."

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

Do you remember how to say “hello?”

你好。(Nǐ hǎo).

And do you remember how Anna says,

"Hello, Ms. Li."

你好，李老师. (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

你好，李老师。(Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

Do you remember how to say “good evening?”

晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo)。

And do you remember how Jason Xu says,

"Good evening, Ms. Li."

晚上好，李老师。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jason , and you’re in morning class.

Respond by saying, "Ms. Li, good morning."

Ready?

杰森，早上好。 (Jiésēn, zǎoshang hǎo.)

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

Listen again and repeat.

李老师，早上好。 (Lǐ lǎoshī, zǎoshang hǎo.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Xianwen , and you’re in afternoon class.

Respond by saying, "Hello, Ms. Li."

Ready?

你好。 (Nǐ hǎo.)

你好，李老师。 (Nǐ hǎo, Lǐ lǎoshī.)

Listen again and repeat.

你好，李老师。

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Anna , and you meet your neighbor.

Respond by saying, "Good evening."

Ready?

晚上好，安娜。 (Wǎnshang hǎo, Ānnà.)

晚上好。 (Wǎnshang hǎo.)

Listen again and repeat.

晚上好。

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to use basic greetings in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of using basic greetings.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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