P: Hi, ni2 hao3. I'm Pingping. Welcome to Ask Pingping and Jules, your bridge to Chinese culture.

J: HI. Ni2 hao3. I'm Jules, 朱丽安. In the west, when we meet, we often greet each other by simply saying: Hi / Hello! Good morning! How are you? Or talking about the weather, such as the weather is beautiful, isn't it? What’s the case in China?

P: if it’s in the morning, we say: zao3shang hao3，which means good morning. Or just zao3 for short.

J: What about other time during the day?

P: You can say ni2hao3.

J: Right. I noticed that the Chinese also say nin2, N-I-N, what does it mean?

P: Well, ni2hao3 is usually used between people of similar ages and social positions. If you meet some one senior to you, you say nin2 hao3. Nin2 is the polite form of ni3. Thus nin2 hao3 seems to be more formal and respectful.

J: But in daily lives between people who are familiar with each other, their greetings are generally based on their situation and thoughts at that moment. For example, when two people meet, one will ask the other casually some questions like "Where you are going?" "Are you going to work?" "Did you eat?". Upon hearing these questions, a lot of westerners won't understand. Because most westerners would consider these questions as private matters, which shouldn't be asked so casually.

P: ways to answer these questions.

(Many thanks to Duggy Day for production and audio-editing.)

Previous Episodes (Please click to listen):

Ask Pingping and Jules--Singles Day

Ask Pingping and Jules--Lucky numbers in China 

Ask Pingping and Jules--Chopsticks