Ni hao what does

Mandarin serves as the native language for around 1 billion people, and many more have learned to speak it. Mandarin is often referred to as "simplified Chinese" because it contains only four tones:. Words tend to be shorter than in English 2 — 4 letters , so one word can have several different meanings depending on the tone pronounced.

As the famous example with ma above shows, using the wrong tones at the wrong times can cause great confusion. As for reading and writing, don't feel bad if you're baffled when confronted with Chinese characters; people from different regions in China often have trouble communicating with each other! That's why we begin by learning how to use Pinyin. Ni hao pronounced "nee haow" is the basic, default greeting in Chinese. Some people, particularly in Taiwan, choose to enhance the greeting by adding the interrogative " ma " to the end to form " ni hao ma?

When traveling mainland China, a simple ni hao will suffice! You will probably hear "hi" and "hello" often when being greeting as a Westerner in Beijing.

You can reply with ni hao for a little fun and practice. Following the concept of saving face in Asia , elders and those of higher social status should always be shown a little extra respect.

Adding just one additional letter ni becomes nin will make your greeting a bit more formal. Use nin hao pronouned "neen haow" — a more polite variation of the standard greeting — when greeting older people. The first word nin is still a rising tone. You can also make nin hao into "how are you? You can simply respond to being greeted by offering a ni hao in return, but taking the greeting one step further is sure to get a smile during the interaction.

Regardless, you should reply with something — not acknowledging someone's friendly ni hao is bad etiquette. A simple greeting sequence could proceed like this:. You: Ni hao! Friend: Ni hao ma? You: Wo hen hao! Xie xie. Ni ne? I am very good, thanks. And you? Friend: Hao. Free Chinese Lessons.

The 1 Winner Character! Chinese Lessons on WhatsApp? Learn Chinese Online WhatsApp:. Your online teacher. Often used in a colonised country e.

Australia, America. The phrase is often used by arrogant, 'think I'm so cool', 'thought I being nice' but is really dumb, white people; they often like to not use their brain and assume people's ethnicity.

This is a Mandarin Chinese phrase typically used in greeting. The term literally means " you good " 'ni' means 'you' and hao' means 'good' , but is used as a "hello" or "hi". If a 'ma' is added to the end of the phrase, its meaning is changed to something like "Are you well? I also know two cusswords in Japanese.