How to Say “Great to meet you” in Chinese
Greetings and politeness · HSK 2
"Great to meet you" in Chinese is 很高兴认识你 (hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ). 认识 (rèn shi) means 'to know/be acquainted with,' so this literally says 'very happy to become acquainted with you.' Swap 你 for 您 (nín) when meeting elders, clients, or anyone you want to show respect to; this is the single most useful politeness upgrade in Mandarin.
Primary translation
很高兴认识你
hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ
Traditional: 很高興認識你
Variants by register
Formal
很高兴认识您
hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nín
Casual
认识你真好
rèn shi nǐ zhēn hǎo
When to use it
认识 (rèn shi) means 'to know/be acquainted with,' so this literally says 'very happy to become acquainted with you.' Swap 你 for 您 (nín) when meeting elders, clients, or anyone you want to show respect to; this is the single most useful politeness upgrade in Mandarin. The standard reply is 我也很高兴认识你 ('happy to meet you too'). In Mainland business settings, this often comes with a two-handed business card exchange. Taiwan uses the same phrase identically.
Example sentences
您好，很高兴认识您。
Nín hǎo, hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nín.
Hello, great to meet you.
我也很高兴认识你。
Wǒ yě hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ.
Great to meet you too.
终于见到你本人，很高兴认识你。
Zhōng yú jiàn dào nǐ běn rén, hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ.
Finally meeting you in person; great to meet you.