Long time no see
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
An informal greeting used when meeting or contacting someone after a noticeably long period without seeing one another. Generally neutral and common today. Historical discussion should acknowledge that early printed examples often caricatured Chinese or Native American speakers rather than treating one disputed pathway as settled fact. Regional use: Now widespread international English; early print history is American.
Origin
The phrase entered printed American English in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through racialized imitations of nonstandard speech. One proposed route is a direct calque from Chinese expressions used in contact varieties of English; another points to representations of Native American English, including a 1900 Western narrative. Current scholarship does not make the choice completely secure, and the early evidence itself reflects stereotypes. The phrase later lost that marked framing and became an ordinary international greeting.
Research Sources
Variants
- Long time no see you
Usage Examples
- Long time no see; I think our last coffee was before the move.
- Marta opened the video call with a cheerful 'Long time no see.'
- Long time no see, Daniel; how has the new job treated you?