\tIn the previous lesson we learned how to say "hello" in Mandarin Chinese. Here are some other common greetings. Audio links are marked with \u25ba .<\/p>\n
\t"GOOD MORNING" IN MANDARIN CHINESE
\tThere are three ways to say "good morning" in Mandarin Chinese:<\/p>\n
\t\u25ba\u200bz\u01ceo \u65e9
\t\u25ba\u200b\u200bz\u01ceo \u0101n \u65e9\u5b89
\tz\u01ceo shàng h\u01ceo \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d
\tEXPLANATION OF \u65e9
\t\u65e9 (z\u01ceo) means “morning.” It is a noun and can also be used by itself as a greeting meaning "good morning".<\/p>\n
\tThe Chinese character \u65e9 (z\u01ceo) is a composite of two character components: \u65e5 (rì) which means "sun" and \u5341. The character component \u5341 is an old form of \u7532 (ji\u01ce), which means “first” or “armor.” A literal interpretation of the character \u65e9 (z\u01ceo), therefore, is “first sun.”<\/p>\n
\tEXPLANATION OF \u65e9\u5b89
\tThe first character \u65e9 is explained above. The second character \u5b89 (\u0101n) means "peace." So, the literal translation of \u65e9\u5b89 (z\u01ceo \u0101n) is "morning peace".<\/p>\n
\tEXPLANATION OF \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d
\tA more formal way to say "good morning" is \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d (z\u01ceo shàng h\u01ceo). We know h\u01ceo – \u597d from our first lesson. It means "good". On its own, \u4e0a (shàng) means "up" or "upon." But in this case, \u65e9\u4e0a (z\u01ceo shàng) is a compound meaning "early morning." So the literal translation of \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d (z\u01ceo shàng h\u01ceo) is "early morning good".<\/p>\n
\t"GOOD EVENING" IN MANDARIN CHINESE
\t\u665a\u4e0a\u597d (w\u01cen shàng h\u01ceo) means "good evening" in Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tEXPLANATION OF \u665a
\t\u665a is composed of two parts: \u65e5 and \u514d (mi\u01cen).<\/p>\n
\tAs established before, \u65e5 means sun. \u514d means "free" or "absolve." Thus, put together the character represents the concept of being free of the sun.<\/p>\n
\tEXPLANATION OF \u665a\u4e0a\u597d AND \u665a\u5b89
\tIn the same pattern as \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d (z\u01ceo shàng h\u01ceo), we can say "good evening" with \u665a\u4e0a\u597d (w\u01cen shàng h\u01ceo). The literal translation of \u665a\u4e0a\u597d (w\u01cen shàng h\u01ceo) is "evening good".<\/p>\n
\tUnlike \u65e9\u5b89 (z\u01ceo \u0101n), \u665a\u5b89 (w\u01cen \u0101n) is not usually used as a greeting but rather as a farewell. The phrase means "good night," but more in terms of sending people off or saying to people before they go to bed.<\/p>\n
\tAPPROPRIATE TIMES
\tThese greetings should be said at the appropriate time of the day. Morning greetings should be said up to about 10 a.m. Evening greetings are usually said between about 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The standard greeting \u4f60\u597d (n\u01d0 h\u01ceo) can be used at any time of the day or night.<\/p>\n
\tTONES
\tAs a reminder, the Pinyin Romanization used in these lessons use tone marks. Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the meanings of words depend on which tone they use. There are four tones in Mandarin:<\/p>\n
\thigh and level
\trising
\tfalling and rising
\tfalling <\/p>\n