How to Say ‘Long time no see’ in Traditional Chinese
好久不見
hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn
[how joe boo jyen]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: [好久不見] is warm and very natural when meeting family again after some time. It fits in-laws well if the relationship is already comfortable; if the setting is more formal, people often add another polite line right after it.
Phrase Breakdown
好久
hǎo jiǔ
a long time
Used to express that a long time has passed.
好久沒見你了。
I haven't seen you for a long time.
Words in this phrase
好
hǎo
[how]
good; very
Here 好 adds emphasis, helping 好久不見 mean 'haven’t seen [you] for quite a long time.'
阿姨，好久不見，您最近好嗎？
Auntie, long time no see, how have you been lately?
久
jiǔ
[joe]
long time
Shows a long duration. In 好久不見, it expresses 'for a long time.'
我們好久不見，聊了很多。
We hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so we talked a lot.
不見
bù jiàn
to not see; to be absent
In this greeting, it means you haven’t seen someone for a long time.
好久不見！
Long time no see!
Words in this phrase
不
bù
[boo]
not
Negates the verb 見 in this phrase, making it 'have not seen.'
叔叔，好久不見，今天又來拜訪您。
Uncle, long time no see, I’ve come to visit you again today.
見
jiàn
[jyen]
see; meet
The main verb in the phrase, meaning to see or meet someone.
大家好久不見，一見面就很開心。
Everyone hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so they were very happy upon meeting.
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