First recorded in 1945–50; from Vietnamese hào “dime”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On sale were T-shirts reading: “Ni hao, y’all” - combining the Chinese version of “hello” with a colloquial Southernism.
From Washington Times • Jun. 23, 2014
European bosses are saying "ni hao" a lot more these days.
From Reuters • Dec. 2, 2011
Take Citibank, Hua qi yinhang, which literally means “star-spangled banner bank,” or Marriott, Wan hao, or “10,000 wealthy elites.”
From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2011
This casino is one of several in the town of Boten, where guests are greeted with a deferential "ni hao", "hello" in Mandarin Chinese.
From BBC • May 28, 2011
“Ni hao? Wo Jiao Shirley. Wo yeh shr Chung Kuo lai de....”
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
