Greetings and Basic Chinese Conversations
Learning Objective
I can greet and simple conversation in Chinese.
Key Concepts
Instead of saying “你好吗 Nǐ hǎo ma?” which translates to “you good or not?”, native Chinese speakers greet each other with “你好 Nǐ hǎo”, which means “Hi, hope you are well”.
To greet acquaintances, you can say “你吃饭了吗 Nǐ chī fàn le ma?”, which means “Have you eaten your meal?”, and respond with “吃过了 chī guò le” (I have eaten) or “还没呢 hái méi ne” (not yet).
To ask “How are you?” in Chinese, you can say “你今天怎么样 Nǐ jīntiān zěnme yàng?”, and to ask “How have you been?” you can say “你最近怎么样 Nǐ zuìjìn zěnme yàng?”, responding with “还好 hái hǎo” (so far so good) or “我很忙 wǒ hěn máng” (I am busy).
Practice Questions
This lesson includes 7 practice questions to reinforce learning.
View questions preview
1. Why does the video suggest avoiding the phrase “你好吗 (Nǐ hǎo ma)?” when greeting someone in Chinese?
2. What is the most versatile and universally accepted greeting in Chinese, suitable for both strangers and friends?
3. Before what time of day is it appropriate to greet someone with 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo) or 早 (Zǎo)?
...and 4 more questions
Educational Video
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Andy and Sarah Mandarin