Be sure to listen to the recordings and practice saying those terms. Once you've mastered the "hello" scene, it's a lot more easier to segue the conversation into areas that you are really passionate about!
Resources for further reading:
How to say "hello" in Chinese
We are extremely lucky to be living in an era where modern, or vernacular, Chinese is in vogue. In older times, saying hello could be a handful as the term to be used differs according to the time of the year, the person you are speaking with, the purpose of such conversation and so on. Nowadays, people more or less just go with simple "hello" and "hi", or maybe have a word play with phrases as casual as nǐ zěnmeyàng (你怎么样？), meaning "what's up?", to the more polite zuìjìn hǎoma (最近好吗？ ), or "how is it going?".
As Chinese people aren't exactly big fans of hand shaking, cheek kissing or hugging, these hello's alone will get you a long way. So don't be shy when you practice saying them!
Pronouncing "hello" in Chinese
The only tricky part in saying hello is that there are two ways of saying "you" in Chinese - the formal nín (您) and the casual nǐ (你). Just make sure to use nín (您) when you are addressing to someone you're meeting for the first time, a senior in terms of age or ranking, and a respected figure.
Now, let's give those terms a try!
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Great job! Now that you have a proper idea how to meet someone and start a conversation, why not explore more Chinese with us? Until the next lesson.
If you want more lessons on Chinese salutations then I recommend that you check out the following:
- Pronouncing How are you in Chinese.
- Using polite Chinese words will help in your travels.
- Saying thank you in Chinese.
下次见！ Xiàcì jiàn!
Lin Ping: Rocket Chinese