Greetings & Politeness
Hello, thank you, sorry, goodbye
HSK 1 · A1 · 8 words
Tone focus
你好 = nǐ + hǎo. Two 3rd tones in a row: the first shifts to a 2nd (rising) tone, so it sounds like ní hǎo.
Vocabulary
Grammar
吗 turns a statement into a yes/no question
Add 吗 (ma) to the end of a statement to ask it. Heads-up: 你好吗？is textbook Chinese — native speakers rarely actually say it. In real life people just greet with 你好 / 嗨, or ask 你吃了吗？(have you eaten?) or 最近怎么样？(how've you been?).
你吃了吗？
Nǐ chī le ma?
Have you eaten? (a common real greeting)
您 is the polite 'you'
Use 您 (nín) instead of 你 for elders, teachers, or formal settings.
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