你好，你今天怎么样？
nǐ hǎo ， nǐ jīn tiān zěn me yàng ？
Hello how are you today · trad. 你好，你今天怎麼樣？
你好，你今天怎么样？ (nǐ hǎo, nǐ jīntiān zěnmeyàng?) is a common way to greet someone and ask about their day in Mandarin Chinese. It's a friendly and natural phrase for everyday interactions.
When to use it
Neutral and polite. The '你好' part is standard. For a more direct 'how are you?', you can use 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?). To be more polite or formal, especially with elders or superiors, use 您今天怎么样？ (nín jīntiān zěnmeyàng?). For a casual chat with friends, you might just say 怎么样？ (zěnmeyàng?), meaning 'how's it going?'. Common replies include 我很好，谢谢 (wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie, 'I'm good, thanks') or 还不错 (hái bùcuò, 'not bad').
How to pronounce it
Sounds like 'nee-HOW, nee jin-TYEN zen-muh-YANG?'. Remember the tone change in 你好, where the first 你 becomes a rising tone. The '怎么样' part has a falling tone on '样'.
Other ways to say it
- 你好吗？nǐ hǎo ma ？How are you? (general)
- 你最近怎么样？nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng ？How have you been recently?
- 您今天怎么样？nín jīn tiān zěn me yàng ？How are you today? (polite)
Examples
你好，你今天怎么样？
nǐ hǎo ， nǐ jīn tiān zěn me yàng ？
Hello, how are you today?
嗨，你今天过得好吗？
hēi ， nǐ jīn tiān guò dé hǎo ma ？
Hi, did you have a good day today?
王老师，您今天怎么样？
wáng lǎo shī ， nín jīn tiān zěn me yàng ？
Teacher Wang, how are you today? (polite)
Pro tip: While 'how are you' is a common greeting in English, Chinese speakers often don't expect a detailed answer to '怎么样?'. A simple '我很好，谢谢' (I'm good, thanks) or '还不错' (Not bad) is usually sufficient, or they might just return the greeting.
Related phrases
和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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