When you are visiting China for business, if you can greet with the suppliers in a local way then you can properly get better price. As you can try to say something local then people might think that you visit China many times and you know the market very well. So they might give you a most offer-able price and wish you place the order directly rather than giving a higher price and bargain. So this sounds really good for you especially if it is the first time for you to China? Ok, how to greet in a local way? Let’s share with you today.
There are mainly two scenes you might need to do that, the first one is greeting in the office and the other one is greeting in the market. So lets go with the first one.
Ni hao
The very first greeting in the office will be “Ni hao”. “Ni hao” means Hello. So when you meet someone come up to you, then you just say “Ni hao” rather than saying Hello. If you shake hand with him, then you can repeat twice “Ni hao, ni hao”, that means “Hello, welcome”, people will feel comfortable when he hears the repeat word.
Ni men hao
If there are many people in the office and you want to greet with them all, then to say “Ni men hao”. Thats the meaning for “Hello, everyone”, its for lots of people not for just one people. Saying “Ni men hao” to lots of people will make them feel that you know Chinese. As lots of foreigners only know “Ni hao” but few of them can say “Ni men hao”. If you can do it then it will be really cool.
Xie xie
So later if someone brings you a water or a coffee, you can say “Xie xie” rather than saying thank you. Its very easy to say “Xie xie” and also easy to remember.
If you know he/she’s mother tongue is Cantonese then you can say “Mu Guai” rather than “Xie xie”. People who speaks Cantonese always want to speak its mother language rather than Chinese.
Above are the main greeting in the office. If you can make it then people in the office will really have different impression on you.
If you are visiting the market, then there are more greetings to say. Besides the greeting word in the office “Ni Hao” “Xie xie”, here are some more like “Lao Ban”, “Duo shao qian”, “Pian yi dian”.
Lao Ban
So in the market, when you walk into a shop and want to greet with the boss or sales people to have some inquiries. You can start with “Ni hao, Lao ban” which means “Hello Boss”. Rather than saying “Ni hao”, “Ni hao, Lao ban” can make the suppliers feel that you often visit China and you know the market very much already. People might used to say “Hello, Boss” in the market but “Ni hao, Lao ban” will make you look like a regular visitor in the market, although this is the very first time for you to visit the market. So remember this important point will let the suppliers give you the most offer-able price rather than a higher price.
Duo shao qian
There is always one thing you need to ask when talking with the suppliers. “Duo shao qian?” means “How much?” So if you want to ask the price, rather than saying “how much”, you can ask them “Duo shao qian?” I think its not difficult to say and remember.
Pian yi dian
This means “Can it be cheaper?”, “Last price?”. If you failed say “Ni hao, Lao ban” perfectly to pretend that you are a regular visitor to the market and unfortunately the suppliers give you a higher price, so you want to bargain with them then you can say “Pian yi dian”. Then you can continue to talk with the supplier for an ideal price, if you think the price is still higher than you expect, you can always try to say “Pian yi dian”.
Besides trying to say some “local word”, there are also some other things you might need to care about.
No embrace, no kiss
Here in China, Chinese people used to be reserved in the past, so even nowadays they are still not as open as western people. Maybe in UK or France, people used to kiss when greeting, especially for female. In China, its not good to kiss when greeting even though you are from the kissing culture country. Embrace is not very common here neither. So just shake hand here.
Shake Hand
So shaking hand is the most used way in China. In Muslim countries, people only use their right hand, will never use left hand for shaking hand due to the Muslim culture. Here in China, there is no such issue. You can use either hand you want if that works for you.
Above all is the main greeting culture in China. I believe now you have much idea about how to greet properly in China. Now let’s repeat them once more.
Hello – Ni hao
Hello, everyone – Ni men hao
Thank you – Xie xie
Hello Boss – Ni hao, Lao ban
How much – Duo shao qian
Less price – Pian yi dian
If you are able to say the above greetings perfectly, then your visit in China will definitely be more successful. If you want to find an interpreter for a much more successful trip, like full
English ~ Chinese interpretation, price negotiation then you can click the link and check it.