Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

Saying goodbye in conversations

24.2

A variation of this kind of greeting is to ask about present activity.

你上哪儿去？ 你到哪儿去？

你上哪兒去？ 你到哪兒去？

Nǐ shàng nǎr qù? Nǐ dào nǎr qù?

Where are you going? Where are you going?

你去哪儿？ 你今天去哪儿玩了？

你去哪兒？ 你今天去哪兒玩了？

Nǐ qù nǎr? Nǐ jīntiān qù nǎr wán le?

Where are you going? Where are you heading off to play today?

干吗(呢)？(informal/casual) 忙什么呢？

幹嗎(呢)？ 忙甚麼呢？

Gànmá (ne)? Máng shénme ne?

What are you up to? What are you busy doing?

24.1.5 Greeting by asking about eating a meal

When greeting others around normal meal times, you can ask if they have eaten.

(你)吃(饭)了吗？(你)吃(饭)了没有？

(你)吃(飯)了嗎？(你)吃(飯)了沒有？

Nǐ chī (fàn) le ma? Nǐ chī (fàn) le méi yǒu

Have you eaten yet? Have you eaten yet?

24.1.6 telephone greetings

The most common phone greetings are:

喂？

Wèi/Wéi. (It may be spoken in a rising or falling tone.)

Hello.

喂，你好。

Wéi, nǐ hǎo.

Hello, how are you?

24.2 Saying goodbye in conversations

24.2.1 Basic goodbyes

The most general way to say goodbye and to end a conversation is:

再见。/再見。

Zài jiàn.

Goodbye. (lit. ‘again see’ → ‘see you again’)

In Taiwan, and increasingly in mainland China, people also say:

拜拜。

Báibái. (also pronounced bàibài)

Bye bye. (borrowed from English ‘bye bye’)

If the participants in a conversation expect to see each other in the near future, they may use

variations of 再见/再見 zàijiàn to say goodbye. These include:

一会儿见。

一會兒見。

Yīhuìr jiàn.

See you in a moment.