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Communicate in Chinese-Greetings 2
wèn hòu问候 Greetings
常用语句 Common Expressions
nǐ hǎo	xià wǔ hǎo
你好 hello	下午好 Good afternoon !
nín hǎo	xià bān la
您好 hello	下班啦 Have you finished work?
nǐ hǎo ma	chī fàn le ma
你好吗？How are you?	吃饭了吗？Have you eaten yet?
nín hǎo ma	zuì jìn máng ma
您好吗？How are you?	最近忙吗？Have you been busy lately?
lǎo shī hǎo	bù tài máng
老师好！Hello teacher!	不太忙。not too busy.
tóng xué men hǎo	hěn máng
同学们好！Hello students!	很忙。Very busy.
zǎo shàng hǎo	tài máng le
早上好！Good morning!	太忙了！Too busy!

Cultural Background 文化背景知识
The Art of Greetings
The Art of Greetings are commonly used polite expressions to show care for each
other when people meet.
In China, when you first meet someone, it is common to use formal greeting such as
"Hello!" "Pleased to meet you ."just like anywhere else in the world. "Hello" is simply
"你好！""您好"is the polite form."你好吗？"is a question: "How are you?" "How do you
do?" or to be more polite we can say:"您好吗？" "欢迎,欢迎." is an expression of
welcome.
When friends meet, greetings are more casual, it's usual to inquire after others' work
and life, to show care and affection. For example, "How are you? ""Finished work"
"Been busy lately?" "Long time no see, have you been well?" "Was the traffic alright?"
"Has work been busy?" etc.
In china, when people who are more familiar with each other meet, they might ask
a vertical question which might seem strange to a foreign visitor or a westerner. For
instance, someone might ask you"上哪儿去?" "Where are you going?" when they do
not mean to enquire about your specific plans, so answers don't have to be specific.
You could say "我出去走一走" "I am going out for a walk."
For friends who meet after a long absence, each will ask after the other's health,
work, family, children and so on, to demonstrate concern and affection, replies to
these greetings can be simple, such as "pretty good", "not bad " or "thank you".
One greeting that is very special in China, and that comes during a holiday seasons
of "春节" or Spring Festival , Chinese New Year. It accompanies a special gesture like
and it is:"过年好！" which means "Happy new year!"
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Copyright 2006 Chase Dragon Language Centre (HK)