Chinese word

下午好

Pronunciation

Pinyinxià wǔ hǎo

Meaning

  • interjectiongood afternoon

Example

下午好，你最近怎么样？xià wǔ hǎo nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng

Good afternoon, how have you been lately?

Illustration for 下午好 (good afternoon)

More examples

走进办公室时，我对同事说了下午好。zǒu jìn bàn gōng shì shí wǒ duì tóng shì shuō le xià wǔ hǎo

When I entered the office, I said good afternoon to my colleagues.

Core concept

A courteous verbal bridge from the afternoon into shared conversation.

Common phrases

  • 跟朋友说下午好gēn péng yǒu shuō xià wǔ hǎo

    say good afternoon to a friend

  • 对老师说下午好duì lǎo shī shuō xià wǔ hǎo

    say good afternoon to the teacher

  • 和同事互相说下午好hé tóng shì hù xiāng shuō xià wǔ hǎo

    exchange good-afternoon greetings with colleagues

Similar words

你好ní hǎo: A common greeting for meeting someone or getting their attention.
您好nín hǎo: A courteous greeting used with respected people or business partners.
嗨hāi: A friendly, informal greeting for someone known well.
晚上好wǎn shàng hǎo: A courteous greeting for starting a conversation in the evening.

Definition in Chinese

用于下午见面或通话时的问候感叹词，用来开始交谈或致意，语气中性且礼貌。yòng yú xià wǔ jiàn miàn huò tōng huà shí de wèn hòu gǎn tàn cí yòng lái kāi shǐ jiāo tán huò zhì yì yǔ qì zhōng xìng qiě lǐ mào

Word origin

下午 (xiàwǔ, "afternoon") combines with 好 (hǎo, "good") to create a greeting tied specifically to that time of day.

Usage tips

  • The greeting works in face-to-face conversation and in writing, including an email opening, when the contact happens in the afternoon.

Opposites

Word lists with this word