Sing along: Mandarin greetings

Part ofMandarinSongs

Introduction

It’s important to know how to greet people and respond in Mandarin.

You can practise greetings in Mandarin with this fun song.

Sing along and learn how to say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, and ask people how they are.

It is important to remember that singing in Mandarin changes the tones.

Sing along: Mandarin greetings

Download the lyrics sheet here.

Sing along: Mandarin greetings
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‘Hello’ in Mandarin

A common way to say ‘hello’ in Mandarin is nĭ hăo.

In China, people often greet each other with:

Nǐ chī le ma? – Have you eaten yet?

A young girl answering her mobile phone

Your greeting might also change depending on the time of day:

MandarinPinyinEnglish
zǎo āngood morning
wǔ āngood afternoon
wǎn āngood night
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‘How are you?’ in Mandarin

To ask a person how they are feeling in Mandarin, you can use:

Nĭ hăo ma? – How are you? or You good?

A boy smiles and points at a girl who is also smiling.

Here are some answers in Mandarin that you could try:

MandarinPinyinEnglish
fēi cháng hǎogreat
hěn hǎovery good
hǎogood
bù tài hǎonot so good

To be polite, you can thank them for asking with xiè xie (thank you).

You can then return the question with Nǐ ne? (And you?)

You can finish any conversation in Mandarin with a simple zài jiàn (goodbye).

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Quiz

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Play Dash and Blink: Missing Mandarin! game

Construct simple phrases and develop an understanding of vocabulary and grammar with this KS2 Mandarin game.

Play Dash and Blink: Missing Mandarin!
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