Various ways to say good-bye in Mandarin Chinese

Last month, we've already learned how to say Good-bye ("Zai Jian") in Chinese.
Please refer to http://mandarineveryday.blogspot.com/2012/04/greeting-zai-jian-see-you.html#links


Today, let's learned some variations:

Chinese	English	Notes
huí tóu jiàn  回头见	See you later See you soon	You expect to see the person you say good-bye to very soon (in a few minutes / hours / days)
děng huǐ ēr jiàn 等会儿见	See you later	You expect to see the person you say good-bye to very soon (in a few minutes / hours / a day)
míng tiān jiàn 明天见	See you tomorrow	You expect to see the person you say good-bye to tomorrow
xià zhōu jiàn 下周见	See you next week	You expect to see the person you say good-bye to next week.
hòu huì yǒu qí 后会有期	Meet again some day	This is an ancient way to say good bye. When you use “Hou hui you qi,” it seems that you and your friends will separate for a long time.

Some related terms:

bǎo chí lián xì
保持联系
Keep in touch

xiān shī péi le
先失陪了
Excuse for a leave

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Difference between "Chi bao le ma" and "Ni hao ma"

My dear friends~ Chi bao le ma?

A facebook friend of mine asked an interesting question~
"What's the difference between [Ni hao ma] and [Chi bao le ma]?"

As greetings, both『 Chi bao le ma 』and 『 Ni hao ma 』are similar to "How are you? (in English)"
Both 『 Chi bao le ma 』 and 『 Ni hao ma 』 are very common greetings in Chinese.
In fact, there is no big difference.

If you must distinguish them, you can do like this:
『 Chi bao le ma 』---> used in more casual occasions
『 Ni hao ma 』---> used in both formal and casual occasions

Therefore, You can use『 Chi bao le ma 』between friends.
In formal occasions, 『 Ni hao ma 』is used.

For more information:
Ni hao: http://mandarineveryday.blogspot.com/2012/04/greeting-ni-hao.html#links
Chi bao le ma: http://mandarineveryday.blogspot.com/2012/04/greeting-chi-bao-le-ma.html#links

Zai Jian (See you / Good-bye)

"Zai Jian" means "See you" or "Good-bye"

"Zai" means "again"
"Jian" means "see"
So the literal meaning of "zai jian" is similar to "see you again" in English.

Zao an! Wu an! Wan an! (Good morning / afternoon / night)

zǎo ān (Good morning!)
wǔ ān (Good afternoon!)
wǎn ān (Good night!)

Note: some people use "zao" instead of "zao an"

Explanation: 

"zao" means "early" and "an" means "good" or "peaceful"

"zao an"  means "Good morning!" 

"wu" means "afternoon"
"wu an" means "Good afternoon!"

"wan" means "late" or "night"
"wan an" means "Good night!"

Other Information:

In English, we have "Good Evening!"
In Japanese, we have "Kon Ban Wa!" (こんばんは)
In Chinese, we also have something similar~
We have "晚上好(wǎn shàng hǎo)"
However, "wǎn shàng hǎo" is seldom used...
People use other greetings (ex. Ni Hao) instead.

Greeting: ni hao! (Hello!)

"ni hao" (nǐ hǎo)  is one of the most common greeting in China.
Its usage is similar to "Hello" in English.

You can also say: "ni hao ma?"
Literally it means "Are you fine?"
It is similar to "How are you?" in English.

Example:

[Chinese]
Mr. Wang:  nǐ hǎo ma?
Ms. Chen:  wǒ hěn hǎo!

[English]
Mr. Want: How are you?
Ms. Chen: I'm fine.

More Information:

You might wonder what's the difference between "chi bao le ma" and "ni hao ma"
Please check:
Difference between "Chi bao le ma" and "Ni hao ma"

Greeting: chi bao le ma? (Are you full? = How are you?)

Literally, "chi bao le ma?" means "have you eaten yet?"
Or more exactly  "have you eaten to fullness?"

Chinese people usually use "chi bao le ma?" as a greeting~
It is similar to "How are you today?" in English.

Example:

[Chinese]
Mr. Wang:  chī bǎo le ma?
Ms. Chen:  chī bǎo le!

[English]
Mr. Wang:  Have you eaten yet? (meaning: How are you?)
Ms. Chen:  I've eaten~ (meaning: I'm fine)

More Information:

You might wonder what's the difference between "chi bao le ma" and "ni hao ma"
Please check:
Difference between "Chi bao le ma" and "Ni hao ma"