How to Say “Good afternoon” in Chinese
Greetings and politeness · HSK 1
"Good afternoon" in Chinese is 下午好 (Xià wǔ hǎo). 下午好 technically exists, but honestly Chinese people rarely use it in daily life; unlike 早上好 (good morning), which is genuinely common. In most casual situations people just say 你好 or 嗨 regardless of the hour.
Primary translation
下午好
Xià wǔ hǎo
When to use it
下午好 technically exists, but honestly Chinese people rarely use it in daily life; unlike 早上好 (good morning), which is genuinely common. In most casual situations people just say 你好 or 嗨 regardless of the hour. You'll hear 下午好 mostly in formal settings: TV anchors, corporate meetings, hotel staff, or a teacher greeting a class. The literal structure is '下午 (afternoon) + 好 (good),' and it covers roughly noon to 6 PM. After that, switch to 晚上好.
Example sentences
各位同事下午好，我们开始开会。
Gè wèi tóng shì xià wǔ hǎo, wǒ men kāi shǐ kāi huì.
Good afternoon everyone, let's start the meeting.
下午好，欢迎收看新闻。
Xià wǔ hǎo, huān yíng shōu kàn xīn wén.
Good afternoon, welcome to the news.
老师下午好！
Lǎo shī xià wǔ hǎo!
Good afternoon, teacher!