Hanzi Sheets
How to write 你好 — "Hello" in Chinese
你好 (nǐ hǎo) is how you say "hello" in Chinese. The universal Mandarin greeting — literally “you good?” Below is each character with its pinyin and meaning, plus a free tracing worksheet you can print in seconds.
你好 character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning in this phrase |
|---|---|---|
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 好 | hǎo | good; well |
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | hello |
Using 你好
你 is “you” and 好 is “good”, so 你好 is literally “you good?” — a greeting so old it no longer expects an answer. It is the right choice for meeting teachers, classmates' parents, and anyone new. The reply is simply 你好 back.
One honest classroom note: between close friends, native speakers more often greet with a question (吃了吗？ — “have you eaten?”) or a time-of-day hello like 早上好. But for learners and children, 你好 is always safe and always understood. The phrase is written the same in Traditional Chinese.
Pre-filled with 你好 in a tian grid with stroke-order strips. Add more words, pick a size, print.
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FAQ
Is 你好 the most common way to say hello in Chinese?
It is the standard greeting taught first, and perfect for strangers, teachers and new classmates. Between close friends, native speakers often greet with 嗨 (hāi, “hi”) or a question like 吃了吗 instead — but 你好 is never wrong.
What is the difference between 你好 and 您好?
您 (nín) is the polite form of 你. Use 您好 for elders, teachers and anyone you want to show respect to; use 你好 with peers and children.
How do you reply to 你好?
Just say 你好 back, optionally adding 吗 to make it a question: 你好吗？ — “how are you?”