How to Say ‘Long time no see.’ in Simplified Chinese
好久不见。
hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn
[haow jyoe boo jyen]
🇨🇳 In China: [好久不见] is a very normal warm greeting when meeting someone again after a gap. It's friendly and works well with in-laws too, as long as the relationship is already somewhat familiar.
Phrase Breakdown
好久
hǎo jiǔ
a long time; for a long while
Used to say that a long time has passed since the last meeting.
好久没见你了。
I haven't seen you for a long time.
Words in this phrase
好
hǎo
[haow]
good; well
In this greeting, 好 is part of 好久, meaning a long time.
见到岳父岳母时，说“好久不见。”里的“好”在“好久”里。
When meeting your parents-in-law, in “Long time no see,” the “好” is part of “好久.”
久
jiǔ
[jyoe]
long time; long-lasting
In 好久不见, 久 helps express that a long time has passed since seeing someone.
“好久不见。”里的“久”表示很长时间没见了。
In “Long time no see,” “久” means you haven't seen each other for quite a long time.
不见
bù jiàn
to not see; not meet
In this phrase, it means “haven’t seen (each other)”; a common greeting after a long time apart.
好久不见，你好吗？
Long time no see, how are you?
Words in this phrase
不
bù
[boo]
not; no
Used here to negate the verb 见, forming 不见, 'not see.'
“好久不见。”里的“不”表示没有见面。
In “Long time no see,” “不” means not having met.
见
jiàn
[jyen]
to see; to meet
Here it means to meet or see someone in person.
“好久不见。”里的“见”是见面的意思。
In “Long time no see,” “见” means meeting in person.
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