14 Ways to Say Goodbye in Chinese | Bye Bye in Chinese

How to Say Bye in Chinese - "Zaijian"?

1. 再见

zài jiàn - literal. again meet; again see liberal. (I'll) see you again
If you look in a dictionary while trying to find out how to say goodbye in Chinese, you will probably get "zaijian" 再见 listed at the top in the No.1 position. Also for Chinese learners, zaijian is probably the first expression of how to say bye in Chinese you learn, whether it's from a teacher, a friend or a book. In real life situations though, 再见 isn't used as much as its English equivalences. It is commonly used in the following situations:

• when a TV/online video host/hostess close their show, they say 再见 more frequently than other versions.
• when an adult says bye to a child, they usually say 再见.
• at the end of a business phone call.
• in written forms such as in poetry, fictions, comic books, scripts for dramas or shows.
• at the end of something you write

As listed above, 再见 is usually more for formal uses rather than casual speaking.

2. 拜拜

bāi bāi - English loanword. bye-bye
Perhaps it's because of its super easy pronunciation. 拜拜 has actually become the favorite way of how to say bye in Chinese. It is borrowed from the English expression bye-bye, as you can tell. 拜拜 is easy and casual, and it sounds nice and friendly; appropriate for any informal or daily uses. Also you can just say a short 拜 as well, making it even easier.

How to Say Goodbye in Chinese and Set A Time to Meet Again

3. 下次见

xià cì jiàn - literal. again meet; again see liberal. see you next time
Simple as it is. Use this one when you want to let the person know that you want to meet them again.

4. 明天见; 明儿见

míng tiān jiàn; míngr jiàn - literal. tomorrow see liberal. see you tomorrow
明天 in Chinese means "tomorrow", but in northern provinces, you will hear the 儿化 retroflex final (nonsyllabic final r 儿 added to a word in spoken Chinese) a lot. In this case, 明天 becomes 明儿. In the video you will be able to hear the difference. Also if you want to say see you on Thursday, just replace 明天 with 星期四, and say 星期四见. And see you on the weekend would be 周末见 - replacing 明天 with 周末 zhōu mò "weekend".

5. 下周见; 下个星期见

xiǎ zhōu jiàn; xià gè xīng qī jiàn - literal. next week see liberal. see you next week
Same as 下次见 and 明天见, you put a time word before 见 to say goodbye in Chinese and set a time to meet again.In this example, there are two ways to say "next week" , 下周 or 下个星期. 周 and 星期 means week. For 星期 you need the measure word 个, for example:

• 1 week = 一个星期 yí gè xīng qī
• 5 weeks = 五个星期 wǔ gè xīng qī

But for 周 you don't need any measure word, for example:

• 1 week = 一周 yì zhōu
• 5 weeks = 五周 wǔ zhōu

6. 一会儿见

yí huì 'ér jiàn - literal. a short while meet; a short while see liberal. see you later; see you in a little bit
What if you're going to see someone in just a short while, on the same day. Say 一会儿见!

7. 回头见; 回见

huí tóu jiàn; huí jiàn - literal. turn back head see; turn back see liberal. see you later
This term is very interesting, because of the vivid description of the characters. 回头 literally means "to turn back your head", saying 回头见 is as if you're saying "I'm going to see you again once I turn my head back". The other version 回见 is just a shortened version, with 头 omitted. The difference between 回头见 and 一会儿见 is that 回头见 can be used in two different situations:

• you're going to meet the person again on the same day
• you're going to meet the person again soon, but not necessarily on the same day.

8. 到时候见

dào shí hòu jiàn - literal. until that time meet; until that time see liberal. see you then; see you until then
In this expression, instead of putting a time word in front of 见, you're putting a phrase that indicates time. 到时候 means "until (that) moment" or "until (that) time".