How to say “long time no see” in Chinese
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Word by word
Tone tip
Two sandhi shifts: 好久 (3+3 → háo jiǔ) and 不 before the fourth-tone 见 (bù → bú). The English 'long time no see' is a direct calque of this phrase.
In a sentence
好久不见，你最近怎么样？
Hǎojiǔ bújiàn, nǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
Long time no see, how have you been?
Hear it and say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio and scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
How do you say "long time no see" in Chinese?+
"long time no see" in Mandarin Chinese is 好久不见, pronounced hǎojiǔ bújiàn. Two sandhi shifts: 好久 (3+3 → háo jiǔ) and 不 before the fourth-tone 见 (bù → bú). The English 'long time no see' is a direct calque of this phrase.
What does 好久不见 mean literally?+
好久不见 breaks down as 好久 (hǎojiǔ) = a long time, 不 (bù) = not, 见 (jiàn) = to see. Together it means "long time no see".
How do I get the tones right in hǎojiǔ bújiàn?+
Two sandhi shifts: 好久 (3+3 → háo jiǔ) and 不 before the fourth-tone 见 (bù → bú). The English 'long time no see' is a direct calque of this phrase.
More phrases like this
Master the tones behind it
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Coming to iOS & Android
The mobile app is on the way. The trainer works right now.
ToneDeck for iPhone and Android is launching soon, and your progress syncs across every device. Meanwhile the full tone trainer runs in your browser today — no install, free to start.
See all the phrases on the how to say things in Chinese index, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.