If you think that “Nǐhǎo” is the only way to say “hello” , then you’re wrong. There are numerous other ways to say hello like a native speaker.

1. 你好（Nǐhǎo) – Hello!：

If you have just started with chinese, this is the first phrase you will learn. It is kind of a formal greeting, people don’t use it with those who they’re familiar with.

2. 您好(Nínhǎo) – Hello! (respectful) :

This is the respectful form of 你好! This is used to express respect towards elders. It’s a polite word which is used formally.

3. 早 (Zǎo) – Morning! :

It is a short form for 早上好, which means Good Morning! It is used the exact same way as in english. You cannot be wrong with this word until and unless it’s evening.

4. 最近好吗？(zuìjìnhǎo ma) – How are you these days? :

This is like “how are you” in english. One when meets someone after a long time, he says how have you been ? and then the other person replies if he is well or not.

5. 喂 (wéi) –Hello! :

This is what you say as soon as you pick up a call. It is similar to the hello we say over a phone call. In this , a person expects the other person to recognise them. The other person also reverts in the same way by saying “wéi”.

As now you know these 5 ways of greeting people in China, you will be pretty confident while communicating with them and would be familiar with how to start the conversation in different situations.