Lesson 1 – Greetings
The 吗 (ma) question particle
Add 吗 to the end of any statement to turn it into a yes/no question. No word order change needed!
The 呢 (ne) bounce-back
Use 呢 after a noun/pronoun to bounce a question back: "And what about...?"
Do Chinese people actually say 你好吗?
Surprisingly, 你好吗 (How are you?) is rarely used between friends in daily life. Chinese people are more likely to greet each other with 吃了吗 (chī le ma — "Have you eaten?") or simply state what they observe: "You look tired!" or "Going out?". 你好吗 sounds a bit formal or textbook-ish in real conversations, but it's still a great starting point for learners.
Time-based greetings
Unlike English, which has morning/afternoon/evening, Chinese mainly uses 早上好 (morning) and 晚上好 (evening). There's no common "good afternoon" — people just use 你好 during the day. 晚安 (good night) is only for bedtime, never as a greeting when arriving somewhere in the evening.