Quick answer: 好久不见, said as a greeting
好久不见 (hǎojiǔ bú jiàn) means “long time no see”. It is used at the moment of meeting someone after a long gap, which makes it a greeting rather than a comment. Saying it is the whole greeting; nothing else is required before it.
The three parts are simple. 好久 (hǎojiǔ) means a long time. 不 (bú) is the negative. 见 (jiàn) means to see or meet. Literally the phrase is “long time not see”, which is why the English expression is so recognisable — the two line up almost word for word.
Is the English phrase borrowed from Chinese?
This question comes up constantly and deserves a careful answer. English “long time no see” appears in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in writing that represents Chinese Pidgin English, and the most common explanation is that it is a calque — a word-for-word borrowing from Chinese. The Oxford English Dictionary treats the phrase as likely modelled on Chinese.
“Likely” is the honest word. The Chinese phrase itself is ordinary and modern, and the resemblance is very close, but the full history of the English expression is not settled. It is fair to say the phrase is widely understood to have come from Chinese; it is not fair to state it as a proven fact.
How to reply
The natural reply echoes the phrase and asks how the person has been. 是啊，好久不见 (shì a, hǎojiǔ bú jiàn) means “yes, it has been a long time”. 最近怎么样？(zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?) asks how things have been lately. 你最近还好吗？(nǐ zuìjìn hái hǎo ma?) is a warmer version.
If you want to say why there has been a gap, 好久没联系了 (hǎojiǔ méi liánxì le, “we have not been in touch for a long time”) is the usual follow-up line.
好久不见 versus 好久没见
好久没见 (hǎojiǔ méi jiàn) is a common variant using 没 instead of 不. The two are close in meaning and both are natural; the 没 version emphasises that the meeting has not happened, while 不见 is the fixed phrasing of the set expression. For a greeting, 好久不见 is the standard and safest choice.
You will also meet 好久不见了 and 好久不见啊. The 了 suggests the gap has now ended, which is accurate at a reunion, and 啊 adds warmth.
Register and where it fits
好久不见 is casual and friendly. It is right for friends, former colleagues, classmates and acquaintances. It is not a formal greeting for a business meeting with a stranger, and it is not what you say to someone you only saw the previous week — 好久 sets an expectation of a real gap.
Note that Chinese speakers may pair it with a specific observation, such as 你瘦了 (you have lost weight) or 你一点都没变 (you have not changed at all). Both are warm in Chinese and neither is considered rude in this context.
What it does not mean
好久不见 is not an apology for the gap, and it is not an accusation. It does not mean “we should meet up” by itself, though it often leads there. It is not used when ending a conversation, since it describes the gap before a meeting rather than the farewell.
Common mistakes
- Using 好久不见 for a short gap of a few days.
- Treating it as formal; it belongs to friendly conversation.
- Assuming the English borrowing is a proven fact rather than the usual explanation.
- Using 再见 instead when meeting after a long gap, which misses the point of the moment.
- Forgetting that 见 must stay; 好久 alone only means “a long time”.