long time no see

A lengthy amount of time. We've been waiting here for a long time. When will we be seated? Oh, I've known Holly for a long time—since grade school, in fact!

A phrase used when one encounters someone after having not seen them for a long period of time. Hey, Al, long time no see! How have you been?

Cliché I have not seen you in a long time.; We have not seen each other in a long time. Tom: Hi, Fred. Where have you been keeping yourself? Fred: Good to see you, Tom. Long time no see. John: It's Bob! Hi, Bob! Bob: Hi, John! Long time no see.

It's been a long time since we met, as in Hi Bob! Long time no see. This jocular imitation of broken English originated in the pidgin English used in Chinese and Western exchange. [Late 1800s]

COMMON People say long time no see to someone that they have not seen for a long time. She raced in and said, `Hi, Dick, long time no see!'

I haven’t seen you for ages, usually used as an informal greeting. This expression originated in the pidgin English used by the Chinese and Westerners dealing with them in the late nineteenth century, which gave rise to other simplified locutions such as “No can do.” This particular phrase is a translation of an actual Chinese greeting, ch’ang chih mei (or hao jiu mei jian). Heard very often until the mid-twentieth century, with its provenance long forgotten, this cliché may be obsolescent.