NetChai Chinese
打招呼
dǎ zhāo hū
Type hello

打招呼 (dǎ zhāohu) means 'to say hello,' 'to greet,' or 'to acknowledge someone' in Mandarin Chinese. It describes the action of greeting rather than the greeting itself. You use it when talking about the act of exchanging greetings.

When to use it

Neutral. It's a common verb phrase. To specify *who* you're greeting, you can use 跟...打招呼 (gēn... dǎ zhāohu), meaning 'to say hello to someone.' Other related phrases include 问好 (wènhǎo), which means 'to send regards' or 'to say hello' (often more formal or for elders), and 问候 (wènhòu), which is similar to 问好 and often used in written contexts.

How to pronounce it

Sounds like “DAH-jow-hoo.” The '打' is a third tone, '招' is a first tone, and '呼' is a neutral tone, often said very lightly.

Other ways to say it

  • 跟...打招呼gēn ... dǎ zhāo hūto say hello to someone
  • 问好wèn hǎoto send regards / say hello (more formal)
  • 问候wèn hòuto send greetings / regards (often written)

Examples

见到老师要打招呼。
jiàn dào lǎo shī yào dǎ zhāo hū 。
You should say hello when you see your teacher.
他向我打招呼了。
tā xiàng wǒ dǎ zhāo hū le 。
He greeted me / said hello to me.
我看到他了,但是没来得及打招呼。
wǒ kàn dào tā le , dàn shì méi lái de jí dǎ zhāo hū 。
I saw him, but didn't have time to say hello.
Pro tip: 打招呼 refers to the *action* of greeting, not the greeting itself. So you wouldn't say '打招呼' as a direct greeting like 'hello.' Instead, you'd use 你好 (nǐ hǎo) for that. Think of 打招呼 as 'to perform a greeting.'

Related phrases

和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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