MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Teacher Education

UNIT III: BASIC GREETINGS AND

COMMON EXPRESSIONS

Introduction
Greetings are always one of the first things someone learns when studying a new
language. They ’ re the key to ensuring the people you talk to have a good impression of you
right from the beginning. A proper Chinese greeting can really open up the gate to a fuller,
desired conversation.
If you’re a beginner in learning Chinese, the very first question for you to ask is “How do
you say ‘hello’ in Chinese?” There are different Chinese greetings for a number of occasions, so
now let’s help you grasp the gist of greeting in the Chinese language like a native!

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. articulate common expressions and greetings; and
2. demonstrate accurate pronunciation of basic Chinese words, phrases, and sentences.

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Central Activity
Learning Input No. 1
New Chinese Words

Personal Pronouns
English Chinese Pinyin Chinese Characters

I / Me wǒ 我
You nǐ 我们
You (Polite) nín 们
He/Him tā 你
She tā 你们
It tā 您

We / Us wǒmen 我们
You (Plural) nǐmen 你们
他们
They / Them tāmen
（Male / Mixed group）
They / Them tāmen 她们 （Females only）
They / Them tāmen 它们（Objects / Animals）

My / Mine wǒ de 我的
Your / Yours nǐ de 你的
His / Her / Hers / Its tā de 他的 / 她的 / 它的

Our / Ours wǒmen de 我们的

Your / Yours nǐmen de 你们的
Their / Theirs tāmen de 他们的 / 她们的 / 它们的

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Learning Input No. 2

Social Greetings

Rules of Tone Changes

1. Tone changes for third tones
When a 3rd tone (such as “nǐ 你”) is followed by another 3rd tone in a group, the first 3rd
tone changes to a 2nd tone.
English We write We say
1. Hello nǐ hǎo ní hǎo
2. Very good hěn hǎo hén hǎo
3. Can / May kě yǐ
4. jǐ suǒ

Social Greetings

Chinese Pinyin English Chinese Characters

1. Nǐ means You.
nǐ hǎo! Hǎo means good.
你好！
2. Nín means You.
nín hǎo! (Courtesy form)
您好！
3. Nǐ means You.
nǐmen hǎo! (Plural form)
你们好！
4. Dàjiā means Everyone.
dàjiā hǎo! Literally means everyone good 大家好！
(Everyone is good)
________ hǎo! Hello, teacher!

Text: “Nǐ hǎo!”

Chinese English
(Mandarin)
Nín hǎo! A: Hello! (Polite
A: 您好！ form)
Nǐ hǎo! B: Hello!
B: 你好！

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Time-specific Greetings

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

Early morning
(approximately 5:00 AM to 9:00 AM)
zǎoshang hǎo 早上好
Mid-morning
(morning from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM)
shàngwǔ hǎo 上午好

Noon
(approximately 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM)
zhōngwǔ hǎo 中午好

Afternoon
(approximately 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM).
xiàwǔ hǎo 下午好
Evening
(approximately 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM)
wǎnshàng hǎo 晚上好
Good night.
Before sleeping)
wǎn ān 晚安

Asking about Well-being

nǐ hǎo!
Hello!

nǐ hǎo ma?
How are you?

ma （吗）- question particle for “Yes-No” questions

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

A: How are you? nǐ hǎo ma? 你好吗？

B: I’m fine, thank you! wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie 我很好，谢谢
Not bad. wǒ hái hǎo 我还好
I’m not very good. wǒ bù tài hǎo 我不太好
I’m not fine. wǒ bù hǎo 我不好
_________, and you? _________, nǐ ne? _____，你呢？

A: How have you been recently? nǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng? 你最近怎么样？

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Oral Drill
Try to have a conversation with your classmates using the text above.

A: nǐ hǎo!
B:________.
A: nǐ hǎo ma?

B: ____, nǐ ne?
A: _______.

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Learning Input No. 3

Common Expressions

Expressions of Gratitude

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

Thanks. / Thank you. xièxie 谢谢
Thank you (to someone specific) xièxie nǐ 谢谢你
Thank you, ________. xièxie _______ 谢谢 _______
Thank you very much. fēicháng gǎnxiè 非常感谢
Thank you for your help. xièxie nín de bāngzhù 谢谢您的帮助
Thank you for your support. xièxie nín de zhīchí 谢谢您的支持

Rules of Tone Changes

2. Tone changes for "bù" (不)
When followed by a 4th tone, 不 (bù) changes to 2nd tone (bú).
English We write We say Chinese Characters

No / Not bù shì bú shì 不是

No need. bù yòng bú yòng 不用

bù chī （bù + 1st tone） =

bù hǎo（bù + 3rd tone） =

bù nénɡ（bù + 2nd tone） =

bù kè （bù + 4th tone） =

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Common Responses to Expressions of Gratitude

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

You're welcome. bù kèqi 不客气
Don/t mention it. bié kèqi 别客气
It’s okay / It’s nothing. méishì 没事
It’s my duty. yīnggāi de 应该的
No need to thank me. bù yòng xiè 不用谢

Sample Dialogue
A: Xièxie nǐ! B: Bù kèqi

Apologies

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

I’m sorry / Sorry duìbuqǐ 对不起
Sorry bù hǎoyìsi 不好意思
I’m really sorry zhēn duìbuqǐ 真对不起
Sorry / I apologize bàoqiàn 抱歉

Common Responses to Apologies

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

It doesn’t matter / It’s nothing méi guānxi 没关系

It’s nothing méi shì 没事

No problem méi wèntí 没问题

I understand wǒ lǐjiě 我理解

Sample Dialogue
A: Duìbuqǐ! B: Méi shì

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Expressing Understnding

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

I understand. wǒ míngbai 我明白
I understand. / I got it wǒ dǒng le 我懂了
I understand. / I sympathize. wǒ lǐjiě 我理解
I know now. / I see wǒ zhīdao le 我知道了

míngbai
dǒng
Informal ways:
lǐjiě
zhīdao
Sample Dialogues
A: Nǐmen dǒng le ma? B: Dǒng le.
A: Nǐmen dǒng ma? B: Dǒng.

Expressing Agreement and Disagreement

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

Yes. shì 是
Correct. duì 对
That’s right. / Exactly. méi cuò 没错
I agree. tóngyì 同意
Of course. dāngrán 当然
Okay. / Alright hǎo / hǎo de 好 / 好的

Sample Dialogue
A: Nǐ de míngzi shì Jessa ma? B: Bù shì.

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Expressions of Feelings

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

I love you wǒ ài nǐ 我爱你

I like you wǒ xǐhuān nǐ 我喜欢你

I miss you wǒ xiǎng nǐ 我想你

I hate you wǒ hèn nǐ 我恨你

Common Responses to Expressions of Feelings

English Chinese (Mandarin)

I love you, too. wǒ yě ài nǐ

yě
I like you, too. wǒ yě xǐ huān nǐ
(also / too) I miss you, too. wǒ yě xiǎng nǐ
I hate you, too. wǒ yě hèn nǐ
I don’t love you. wǒ bù ài nǐ

bù I don’t like you. wǒ bù xǐ huān nǐ

(No / Not)
I don’t miss you. wǒ bù xiǎng nǐ
I don’t hate you. wǒ bù hèn nǐ

Sample Dialogues
A: Wǒ ài nǐ. B: Wǒ yě ài nǐ.
A: Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ. B: Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù xǐhuān nǐ

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph
 MARIANO MARCOS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Teacher Education

Farewell Expressions

English Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese Characters

Goodbye zàijiàn 再见
Bye-bye bāibāi 拜拜
See you next time xiàcì jiàn 下次见
See you tomorrow míngtiān jiàn 明天见
Stay safe Zhùyì ānquán 注意安全
Safe travels / Have a safe trip yīlù píng ān 一路平安

Sample Dialogue
A: Xià cì jiàn! B: Hǎo de, xià cì jiàn!

Classroom Expressions
English Chinese (Mandarin)
Class begins! shàng kè!
Class dismiss! xià kè!
A: Hello students! A: Tóngxué men hǎo!
B: Hello teacher! B: Lǎoshī hǎo!
A: Did you understand? A: Nǐmen dǒng le ma?
B: Understood. / don’t understand. B: Dǒng le. / bù dǒng.
Very good! Hěn hǎo！

Other Expressions
English Chinese
Happy New Year! Xīnnián kuàilè!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè!
Merry Christmas! Shèngdàn jié kuàilè!
Happy Birthday! Shēngrì kuàilè!
Way to wish someone a happy Zhù nǐ + holiday + kuàilè!
holiday: Zhù; express good wish/ wishes
Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè!

Castro Ave., Laoag City, 2900 Ilocos Norte, Philippines

 [email protected]  (077) 600-2014
www.mmsu.edu.ph