word choice - 你好啊？ or 你好吗？ Which is more common? - Chinese Language . . . 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
history - Insight into 你好 - Chinese Language Stack Exchange My textbook says that ''until recently, 你好 was only used to greet foreigners, but now even native speakers use it to greet each other '' Wow, so when was 你好 invented added to the Chinese lexicon ?