好久不见

Learning Chinese: How to Say "Long Time No See" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 好久不见
Pinyin: hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn
Pronunciation: hao3 jiu3 bu4 jian4
English Translation: Long time no see

Usage:

"好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" is a common Chinese phrase used to greet someone you haven't seen in a long time. It can be used in both formal and informal settings.

Example:

Chinese: 好久不见，李老师。
Pinyin: Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn, Lǐ lǎoshī.
English: Long time no see, Teacher Li.

Variations:

There are a few variations of "好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" that you may hear:

好久没见 (hǎo jiǔ méi jiàn): Another common way to say "long time no see."
别来无恙 (bié lái wú yàng): A more formal way to say "long time no see," literally meaning "have you been well since we last met?"

Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers saying "long time no see" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.

Additional Notes:

"好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" is typically used when greeting someone you haven't seen in a while, but not necessarily a very long time.
If you haven't seen someone in a very long time, you can use the phrase "阔别已久 (kuò bié yǐ jiǔ)," which literally means "separated for a long time."
When responding to "好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)," you can simply say "好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn)" or add a polite phrase such as "我也好久不见你 (wǒ yě hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn nǐ)," which means "I also haven't seen you for a long time."