Cultural Insight:

In the West, standard greetings are "Hello" or "How are you?" with a common response being "I'm fine, thank you." But in China, greetings are more closely tied to daily life. "Hello" is a universal and formal greeting. However, among friends and family, people often say "Have you eaten?", which literally means "Have you eaten?"

This doesn't mean they actually want to invite you to a meal; it's just a way to show care and friendliness, originating from a time when having enough to eat was a primary concern. This greeting reflects the importance of "Food is the paramount necessity of the people" in Chinese culture and the care between people.

Useful Sentences:

1. 你好！(Nǐ hǎo!) - Hello!

2. 吃了吗？(Chī le ma?) - Have you eaten? (Informal greeting)

3. 我吃了，你呢？(Wǒ chī le, nǐ ne?) - I have eaten, and you?

4. 还没吃。(Hái méi chī.) - Not yet.

Grammar Tip: The Particle "了 (le)"

"了" is one of the most important grammatical words in Chinese, with several uses. Here, it indicates the completion of an action.

• 吃 + 了 + 吗？ → Asks if the action of "eating" is completed.

• Positive Answer: 吃 + 了。 (Chī le.) - (I) have eaten.

• Negative Answer: 没 + 吃。 (Méi chī.) - (I) did not eat. (Note: In negative perfect tense, we use "没" and omit "了").

Exercise:
Fill in the blanks with "了" or "没".
A：你______作业吗？(zuòyè - homework)
B：我______做______。
(Answer: A：做...了...吗？ B：没...做)