Let's take a look at all the "goodbye" scenarios.
Resources for further reading:
Pronouncing "goodbye" in Chinese
You might not know this, but you only say "bye" seriously to departed ones. To all living people, we prefer "see you again" in Chinese. So the most common way of saying "goodbye" is actually 再见 zàijiàn, which literally means "again see". Her e are some basic ways of saying that in an everyday conversation.
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
For a casual twist, you can also say "see you soon" in Chinese. In addition, more and more young people use the direct phonetic translation of "bye" to bid goodbyes to friends and families as well. One interesting aspect is how the Chinese character works out for "bye". It is pronounced bāi and written like this: 掰. If you take a closer look, this character can actually be divided into three vertical parts: 手 + 分 + 手. Here, 手 shǒu means "hand" and 分 fēn means "to part"; so if your hand is to part with another person's hand, you two are indeed bidding goodbye.
Incidentally, to "break up" with someone or a relationship is called 分手 fēnshǒu.
If you want more lessons on Chinese salutations then I recommend that you check out the following:
- Saying hello in Chinese will get you far!
- Pronouncing How are you in Chinese.
- Using polite Chinese words will help in your travels.
下次见！ Xiàcì jiàn!
Lin Ping: Rocket Chinese