Ni hao and Zai Jian

[skylee]

Yes pazu I 've seen "Love Letter" many times and love it. The "O genki desu ka" scene often makes me cry. And many of us audience love the 藤井樹 little mistery.

You don't say goodbye in that sort of situation in China anyway. But if you did it would be the same as "Au revoir" in French. It's conventionalized.

I think in Hong Kong this has become more and more popular. It is hard not to respond with the same civility when the shop keepers and even bus/taxi drivers say goodbye to you (I often say goodbye to shop keepers, which might appear odd to other HK people).

[Lu]

Altair said: "Every so often I drop my daughter off with her tennis teacher at dusk and exchange greetings with him. He is from the mainland and speaks Mandarin. What is a natural greeting to use with him. Ni hao or ni hao ma? Or how about wan3 an1? Is that too artificial?"

晚安 wan3an1 is said when you're going to sleep. Would be a bit odd to say it as a hello. You might say 晚上好 wan3shang4 hao3, Good evening.

你好 ni3 hao3 means Hello. It's not a question, it's just a greeting. An answer would be 你好 ni3 hao3.

你好吗？ ni3 hao3 ma? is a question, an answer would be 还好，你呢？ hai3 hao3, ni3 ne?

"By the way, I just noticed on a tape I have of an overseas new broadcast that the announcer signs off by saying 再会. Again, would 再見 really work here, or is 再会 just some sort of radiospeak?"

再见 is not taken literally. I've never heard 再会.

[Quest]

再会 is more formal.