Tā xiàng wǒ hànshǒu zhìyì, ránhòu zhuǎnshēn líkāi le.
He nodded to me in greeting, then turned and left.
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颔首 is literary; in speech people say 点头. 颔 is the chin, so the word pictures the chin dipping. It turns up in 颔首微笑 (to nod with a smile), 颔首致意 (to nod in greeting) and 颔首之交 (a nodding acquaintance).
