What is ni hao?

Nǐ hǎo (你好) is the basic greeting in Mandarin Chinese. It literally translates to "you good," but it's used as a general, all-purpose greeting equivalent to "hello" or "hi" in English.

• Meaning: As mentioned, it directly means "https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/you (你)" + "https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/good (好)".
• Usage: It's appropriate for most situations and can be used with anyone, regardless of age or social status.
• Tone: The tones are important. "Nǐ" (你) is third tone, and "hǎo" (好) is also third tone. When two third tones are next to each other, the first one changes to a second tone. So, you actually pronounce it as "ní hǎo" (second tone, third tone). Getting the https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/tones correct is important for clear communication.
• Variations: While nǐ hǎo is the basic greeting, there are more formal and polite ways to greet people, especially elders or superiors. For example, adding "nín" (您), the polite form of "you," creates "nín hǎo."
• Response: The standard response to nǐ hǎo is also nǐ hǎo. It can also be followed by a more specific question like "[https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/how%20are%20you](how are you)?".