<p>I believe  "吃了没" is more elder than 你好啊？
I'm born and raised in China and when I see a friend I just say "Hi" or "Hay"
They can get it whether they can speak English.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-18T09:36:17.473Z
2014-11-18T09:36:17.473Z
Peng  Zup
<p>&quot;您好吗&quot; 一般是对长辈和领导说您好吗。一般人见面 &quot;你好吗&quot; 就可以了。&quot;您&quot; 相对 &quot;你&quot; 来说多一分尊敬的意思。</p>
<p>&quot;你好啊&quot; 和 &quot;你好&quot; 的意思一样，&quot;你好啊&quot; 更亲近一些。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-18T12:29:48.880Z
2021-04-18T23:55:11.047Z
2021-04-18T23:55:11.047Z
中国人
<p><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BD%A0%E5%A5%BD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BD%A0%E5%A5%BD</a></p>

<p>In Chinese, 你好 actually has a common usage with Hello in English, it will be used by the time you want to say hi to people. But the difference between them is, I don't think Hello has a specific meaning in English, but 你好 in Chinese do have a specific meaning. To understand this better, you must know this first, in Chinese, every single word in chinese hold a specific meaning.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-21T06:12:22.717Z
2019-06-21T09:44:48.110Z
2019-06-21T09:44:48.110Z
yanyingwang
<p>Like "How are you" in English, those are old fashioned. Unless you write to some one or making a poem? You can just say "吃了没" which is more common and native.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-17T17:12:18.420Z
2014-11-17T17:12:18.420Z
Madwyn
<p>你好吗, as opposed to 你好, is seldom used because it implies asking whether the other person has or has not overcome some past problem or medical affliction. </p>

<p>So, 你好 is straight forwardly wishing someone well, whereas 你好吗 is akin to an  unsolicited question.</p>

<p>If someone says to me 你好吗, I may jokingly reply, 我 有 什 么 不 好？</p>

<p>In English you do not for no specific reason say "How are you today" because it implies you were not that good yesterday or sometime in the recent past.</p>

<p>Finally, a Chinese rarely if ever use 吃了没 to a non-Chinese, though I am not sure of the reverse.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-07T05:31:15.480Z
2019-12-07T05:31:15.480Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>Usually people just say 你好 because, well, it's just the common way. I don't think there are any reasons.</p>

<p>你好啊 sounds like talking to babies, or if you are greeting someone who is some distance away and you want yourself to be heard. 你——好——啊——</p>

<p>你好吗 is a direct translation of "How are you?" It is only used by Chinese when one really wants to know what is going on with the other, or it may be used with English speakers to make them feel less culturally alienated. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-14T12:09:17.837Z
When people say "How are you" to me, I always stutter :$
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-14T12:11:33.267Z
Ok that makes sense. So "How are you/你好吗" is not really used in normal speech therefore the distinction is irrelevant.
Richard Perry
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-14T12:07:36.093Z
2014-11-16T02:15:26.417Z
2014-11-16T02:15:26.417Z
Wang Dingwei
<p>I have recently come across the phrase 你好啊 and I was curious about its usage. It was in the FSI Chinese course with a meaning of 'How are you?', but I have only heard 你好吗 on other courses and when talking to Chinese speakers on Skype. Is this because 你好啊 is not really used very much in everyday life, or is it because Chinese speakers tend to tailor the way they say things to suit the level of the other person and 你好吗 is more common in text books?</p>

<word-choice><usage><expressions>
你好啊？ or 你好吗？ Which is more common?
# 你好啊？ or 你好吗？ Which is more common?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-14)

I have recently come across the phrase 你好啊 and I was curious about its usage. It was in the FSI Chinese course with a meaning of 'How are you?', but I have only heard 你好吗 on other courses and when talking to Chinese speakers on Skype. Is this because 你好啊 is not really used very much in everyday life, or is it because Chinese speakers tend to tailor the way they say things to suit the level of the other person and 你好吗 is more common in text books?

**Tags:** word-choice, usage, expressions

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## 6 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-11-14. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Usually people just say 你好 because, well, it's just the common way. I don't think there are any reasons.

你好啊 sounds like talking to babies, or if you are greeting someone who is some distance away and you want yourself to be heard. 你——好——啊——

你好吗 is a direct translation of "How are you?" It is only used by Chinese when one really wants to know what is going on with the other, or it may be used with English speakers to make them feel less culturally alienated.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: When people say "How are you" to me, I always stutter :$  
> **username_0**: Ok that makes sense. So "How are you/你好吗" is not really used in normal speech therefore the distinction is irrelevant.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-11-18. Score: 1

I believe "吃了没" is more elder than 你好啊？
I'm born and raised in China and when I see a friend I just say "Hi" or "Hay"
They can get it whether they can speak English.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-04-18. Score: 1

"您好吗" 一般是对长辈和领导说您好吗。一般人见面 "你好吗" 就可以了。"您" 相对 "你" 来说多一分尊敬的意思。

"你好啊" 和 "你好" 的意思一样，"你好啊" 更亲近一些。


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-06-21. Score: 0

<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BD%A0%E5%A5%BD>

In Chinese, 你好 actually has a common usage with Hello in English, it will be used by the time you want to say hi to people. But the difference between them is, I don't think Hello has a specific meaning in English, but 你好 in Chinese do have a specific meaning. To understand this better, you must know this first, in Chinese, every single word in chinese hold a specific meaning.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2014-11-17. Score: 0

Like "How are you" in English, those are old fashioned. Unless you write to some one or making a poem? You can just say "吃了没" which is more common and native.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2019-12-07. Score: 0

你好吗, as opposed to 你好, is seldom used because it implies asking whether the other person has or has not overcome some past problem or medical affliction.

So, 你好 is straight forwardly wishing someone well, whereas 你好吗 is akin to an unsolicited question.

If someone says to me 你好吗, I may jokingly reply, 我 有 什 么 不 好？

In English you do not for no specific reason say "How are you today" because it implies you were not that good yesterday or sometime in the recent past.

Finally, a Chinese rarely if ever use 吃了没 to a non-Chinese, though I am not sure of the reverse.


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