How to Say ‘How are you?’ in Simplified Chinese
你好吗？
nǐ hǎo ma
[nee haow mah]
💬 Usage Tip: Adding 吗 to the end of any statement turns it into a yes/no question, with no change in word order: 你忙 "you're busy" becomes 你忙吗 "are you busy?".
🇨🇳 In China: This is textbook Chinese; people mostly ask it of someone they haven't seen in a while, not as a casual daily greeting.
Phrase Breakdown
你
nǐ
[nee]
you
The basic singular word for 'you' in Chinese.
我问邻居你今天忙吗。
I ask my neighbor, 'Are you busy today?'
好
hǎo
[haow]
good; well
A very common word meaning good or well; in greetings it helps form polite expressions.
见到邻居时说好很礼貌。
Saying 'hao' when seeing a neighbor is polite.
吗
ma
[mah]
question particle (yes/no)
Placed at the end of a sentence to turn it into a yes/no question.
新年你回家了吗？
Did you go home for the New Year?
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