How to say goodbye in Mandarin Chinese in 36 appropriate ways

Learning how to say goodbye can be a great way to start your Chinese learning journey.

Really! Even if you’ve only just learned a few ways to say hello in Chinese, you shouldn’t forget to learn how to say goodbye. Learning a few ways to say bye in Mandarin will help you wrap up your conversations and it's an incredibly useful skill to have even if you’re still at the beginner level. Even if you can’t maintain a full conversation in Mandarin (yet!), you should know how to properly bid farewell!

Learning how to say goodbye in Chinese will help you:

• Be contextually appropriate: You wouldn’t say goodbye to an important business partner or your new in-laws with a casual “see ya!”, would you? The same is true for Chinese!
• Deliver the right kind of emotion: If you won’t be seeing a friend or family member in a while, it’s probably a good idea to let them know that you will miss them with a more heartfelt goodbye!
• Be polite in your daily life: Even if you only interact with strangers in Chinese, you should still know how to politely say goodbye after you pick up some fruit from the market or buy a cup of coffee.
• Nurture your relationships: Many ways of saying goodbye in Mandarin imply that you hope to see the person again soon. What better way to let someone know that their company is appreciated?

So, are you ready to learn how to say goodbye in Chinese? Don’t miss this invaluable lesson on your Chinese learning journey!

How to say goodbye in Mandarin Chinese

If you’re taking in-person or online Mandarin classes, you probably already know the most basic way to say goodbye in Chinese: 再见 (zài jiàn). This is one of the most common ways to say goodbye in Mandarin, and it’s also one of the most versatile. It’s neutral so it can be used in almost all situations, except maybe in highly formal settings or when you’re saying goodbye forever to someone.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation	Context
Goodbye	再见	zài jiàn	tzay jiann	Neutral
Byebye	拜拜	bái bái	byebye	Casual
Bye	拜了	bài le	bye	Casual
See you tomorrow	明天见	míng tiān jiàn	ming tiehn jiann	Neutral
Until next time	下次见	xià cì jiàn	shiah tsyh jiann	Neutral
See you later	回头见	huí tóu jiàn	hwei toe jiann	Neutral
See you in a little while	一会儿见	yí huì(e)r jiàn	yi huey jiann	Casual
Let’s chat when you’re free	有空再聊	yǒu kòng zài liáo	yeou kong tzay liau	Casual
Walk slowly (take care)	慢走	màn zǒu	mann tzoou	Polite
Have a good night	晚安	wǎn ān	woan an	Neutral
Farewell	告别	gào bié	gao byeh	Formal
Take care of yourself	照顾好自己	zhàogù hǎo zìjǐ	jaw gu how tzyh gee	Polite
Until we meet again	再会	zài huì	tzay huey	Business
Keep in touch	再联系	zài liánxì	tzay lian she	Neutral
I should leave	告辞	gào cí	gao tsyh	Formal
I’m off	我走了	wǒ zǒu le	woh tzou luh	Casual
I’m leaving	我走啦	wǒ zǒu la	woh tzou la	Casual
I must go	我得走啦	wǒ děi zǒu la	woh day tzou la	Neutral
(I’m) off	走了	zǒu le	tzou luh	Casual
I have no choice but to say goodbye	我不得不说再见了	wǒ bùdébù shuō zàijiàn le	woh boo deh boo shuo tzay jiann luh	Formal
Let’s do this again sometime	下次再约	xià cì zài yuē	shiah tsyh tzay yooeh	Neutral
Let’s do this again when you have time	有空再约	yǒu kòng zài yuē	yeou kong tzay yooeh	Neutral
Excuse me	失陪了	shīpéi le	shih pay luh	Polite
I’ll show myself out	留步	liú bù	liou boo	Polite
I’m hanging up	挂了啊	guà le a	guah luh ah	For phone calls
That’s it then	就这样	jiù zhèyàng	jiow jeh yang	For phone calls
Hope you see you some other time	后会有期	hòu huì yǒu qī	how huey yeou chee	When saying goodbye to someone you may not see again

Chinese Chengyu for goodbye

Learning chengyu is one of the most exciting parts of Chinese. A chengyu is a Chinese idiom that is usually compressed into four characters. It is a handy way to express a long story that most people know with just a few key words. This is why learning Chinese involves so much more than just developing your linguistic skills — you’ll become acquainted with plenty of history and wisdom that has been passed down for millennia!

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation	Meaning
To travel in the direction of the wind	一路顺风	yí lù shùn fēng	yi loo shuenn fehng	Have a safe and pleasant trip!
Travel on a safe road	一路平安	yí lù píng ān	yi loo pyng ahn	Have a safe and pleasant trip!
To be separated in life and death	生离死别	shēng lí sǐ bié	sheng lee syh byeh	To part ways forever
The shrike and the swallow each fly	劳燕分飞	láo yàn fēn fēi	lau yann fen fay	Used by couples when they are leaving or going to be separated for a while

Create your own way of saying goodbye in Chinese

One of the most fun parts of learning a new language is being able to engage with it, so why not create your own way of saying goodbye in Chinese? You already know that 再见 means “see you next time,” but what if you want to be more specific? If you already know when that “next time” is, then you can specify it!

You can use the following structure: [specific time] + 见

Here are some examples:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
See you tomorrow	明天见	míngtiān jiàn	ming tian jiann
See you on Friday	周五见	zhōuwǔ jiàn	jou woo jiann
See you next week	下周见	xiàzhōu jiàn	shiah jou jiann
See you next month	下个月见	xiàgè yuè jiàn	shiah geh jiann
See you this afternoon	下午见	xiàwǔ jiàn	shiah woo jiann

See you next blog!

Although you’re learning how to say goodbye in Mandarin, we hope this is just the beginning for you. This wonderful language has tons of mind-bogglingly interesting grammar structures, idioms, and phrases — enough to keep you studying for an entire lifetime if you so desire!

But don’t worry, now that you know how to say hello and goodbye in Chinese, you’re one step closer to having exciting conversations in this beautiful language. With consistency and some dedication, you’ll soon be able to use your Chinese skills to meet new people, order food, and even talk about your favorite animals!

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our guide to the Chinese writing system and these ten expert-backed tips for learning Chinese characters. We regularly publish helpful guides like these in our Mandarin blog, so bookmark the page and let us help you improve your Chinese!