How to Say How Are You in 20 Languages

In English, "How are you?" is rarely a real question. Most of the time it means "hello," and the expected answer is "Good, you?" Nobody wants a medical report.

Other languages treat it differently. Some use it as a greeting too. Some expect a real answer. Some barely use it at all. Here are twenty ways to ask, with rough pronunciations, and a few notes on how each one is used.

The pronunciations are approximations for English speakers. Treat them as a starting point, and let a native speaker correct you.

Twenty ways to ask

When it is a greeting, and when it is a question

As a greeting. In Brazilian Portuguese, Tudo bem? works as both hello and question, and the answer is usually Tudo bem, e você? ("All good, and you?"). French Ça va ? works the same way: the reply is Ça va, et toi ? You do not need to share your life story.

As a real question. In German, Polish and Russian, people often take the question more literally than English speakers do, so an honest, short answer is normal. If you are having a rough day, you are allowed to say so. That varies by person, though, and many people still reply with a quick "fine."

With a literal meaning. The Hebrew מה נשמע? means "what is heard?" and the Swahili Habari? means "news?" The usual Swahili answer is Nzuri ("good"). In both cases, the phrase is really asking what is new.

Notes on specific languages

Japanese. お元気ですか？ is not a casual hello. People use it when they have not seen someone for a while, so it can feel oddly formal if you ask it every day. With friends, a simple 元気？ ("genki?") is more natural.

Mandarin. 你好吗？ is the version every textbook teaches. In everyday chat, many people ask something more like 最近怎么样？ (zuìjìn zěnmeyàng), "how have things been lately?" Among older people, you may also hear 吃了吗？ ("have you eaten?"), which started as a way to show care.

Arabic. The phrase changes with the gender of the person you ask: كيف حالك to a man and كيف حالكِ to a woman. A common answer is الحمد لله ("praise be to God"), pronounced al-HAM-du lil-LAH.

Korean. 잘 지내세요? is polite. Among friends, you would say 잘 지내? and drop the ending. Korean has several levels of speech, so it is worth asking how someone prefers to be addressed.

How to answer

Learning to ask is half the job. Here are easy replies, each one followed by the polite "and you?"

Always ask the question back. In almost every culture it is a sign of good manners, and it keeps the chat moving.

A few small mistakes to avoid: using the formal form with a close friend, which can sound cold, using the informal form with an older person, which can sound careless, and answering with a long story when the other person only wanted a quick greeting.

Formal or informal?

Many of these phrases have formal and informal versions. Spanish ¿Cómo estás? becomes ¿Cómo está? with someone you should address formally. In Hindi, आप कैसे हैं? is the respectful form, and तुम कैसे हो? is the casual one. With someone you have just met, the polite form is the safer choice, until they tell you otherwise. Our guide to formal and informal you explains how to choose.

A simple way to use this

1. Start with hello in their language, from our 20 ways to say hello.
2. Add "how are you" from this list.
3. Wait for the answer, then reply to it in a friendly way.
4. Finish with a thank you, which you can find in how to say thank you in 20 languages.

You can also try the say hello tool for a random greeting with audio.

Last thought

You do not have to say any of this perfectly. A slightly clumsy ¿Cómo estás? from a stranger is a small, friendly gift. Pick one language, practice one phrase and use it on someone real this week.