Ways to ask how are you

50 Questions to Ask Someone Instead of “How Are You”

Get the conversation going — really going

Everyone who goes to networking events has this challenge: What do I ask someone I don’t know to start a good conversation.

A simple “ How Are You?” usually won’t do the trick to bring out the most interesting stories.

Honestly, this is also true for your friends and family. If you only have time for a quick check-in, maybe. But even so, how many times have you heard anyone answering something meaningful?

Kalina Silverman, then a college student, conducted a “little” research project, called BIG TALK. She wanted to be able to make meaningful connections with new people, and realized that takes skipping the small talk to have deeper conversations. She approached strangers and asked them this one question: “What do you want to do before you die?”

She shares her inspiring story in a TEDxtalk, which has already more than 4,400,000 views.

It simply needs practice.

That’s the reason why I challenged myself to ask all the questions that come into my mind, no matter to whom/what it is, for an entire month. And obviously taking the time to mindfully listen to the answers.

Why don’t you join me?

Would love to hear which of your questions resulted in the most unexpected, honest, mind-opening, and interesting stories.

Here’s a list of 50 questions you can start asking

22 Awesome Ways To Say: How Are You in Japanese

How are… you? This is a very important question and is used every day in all conversations around the world. In fact, it can also be considered a way to say hello in Japanese.

So in this lesson you will learn the 22 Ways to ask How Are You in Japanese.

Want to learn how to write in Japanese? Download your FREE Japanese Alphabet eBook here.

1. お元気ですか?

Asking about their “genki-ness” – How are you?
This is #1 most common way to way to ask how someone is in Japanese. You’ll read this in every textbook and hear this in every lesson. Genki simply means “lively” or “healthy.”Here’s the polite version to use for strangers and older people.

By the way, you should also hear real Japanese and its sounds.

So, if you’re interested, here’s a quick lesson greetings from JapanesePod101.

2. 元気？

Here’s the casual way to use with friends. All you have to do is say this with a question tone.

3. 元気だった?

Another variation is… Have you been well? The difference here is that this is in the past tense. You want to know how they’ve been.

4. 最近はどうですか? How are you recently?

This is another way to ask about them. In this case, you want to know how they are recently. Note, if you noticed above, keep the “desu ka” and it’s polite. Remove the “desu ka” and it’s casual.

5. 最近どう?

And here’s the casual way. You can also say “sakin wa dou” but “wa” can get dropped. Casual is all about dropping words.

Or even more casual, here are some other variants of “How are you” in Japanese.6. Dou yo?How’s it going?Super casual. Yo is added for extra enthusiasm.

7. 気分はどうですか? How do you feel?

Kibun means mood or feeling. So this question literally asks how your mood or feelings are. This is more about health and well-being (physical or emotional), rather than just asking “how are things?”

8. 気分どう?

And more casually…

9. 調子はどうですか? How’s it going?

Choushi means condition. You can only ask this when there’s implied context or some understood situation. For example, if your friend is sick… and you ask him that, you’re referring to his sickness. If your friend is busy at work, this means you want to know about things going on with his work situation.

10. 調子はどう?

And more casually…

11. どうしたんですか?What’s wrong?

Another good way to say how are you in Japanese. And yes, this should be used in negative situations when you think something is wrong.

12. どうしたの？

And more casually (you can even drop the “no”).

13. 何事だ？What’s goin’ on?

Super casual. When you just want to find out what things have been going on.

14. 今なにしてるの？What are you up to right now?

Very common question among friends. Although it’s not an obvious “how are you,” it’s another variation of find out what’s going on with your friend.

15. 私はただあなたの本当の気持ちが知りたいだけだよ。All I want is to know how you really feel.

Now this is a pretty serious way to ask “how are you.” Most people aren’t direct. Ask them directly how they feel. But this is too direct of a phrase for Japanese natives to use, so keep that in mind.

16. How have you been? (Long time no see!)

Technically, hisashiburi means “long time no see.” However, it can be interpreted as “how’ve you been?” Use it when you haven’t seen someone in a while!

17. 心の声を聞かせて。Tell me how you really feel.

If translated literally, it’s “tell me your heart’s voice.” However, you should know that you can’t be literally translating stuff – you’re not capturing the intended meaning.

18. なんか面白いことあった？Anything interesting?

This is super casual. It’s like asking “what’s the good news” or “anything good happen lately? It’s a way to dig for positive news in Japanese.

19. 最近なにしていますか? How are things going recently? What are you doing recently?

Here, you’re simply asking what they’ve been doing (shite-imasu) recently (saikin). Just another variation of things you’ve learned before.

20. 元気かい? Hey, whats up? How are ya?

This is super colloquial and casual. You’ll see “kai” which is the colloquial for “desu ka.” Do NOT use it this outside of friends.

21. どうだい?How’s things? How’s it going?

Again, super casual and worthy of it’s own entry. You know “dou” but “dai?” “Dai” is a colloquial version for “dayo.” Again, don’t use this outside of your friends.

22. 最近なんか変わったことある?Anything change/anything new recently?

Here, you’re asking if there’s any thing (koto) that has been changed (kawatta).

14 Ways to Ask “How Are You?” In Chinese

“How are you?” is one of the first phrases you should learn when studying any language. Just as with other languages (English included), there are many more ways to ask how somebody is doing than just the standard version you see in textbooks.

If you go a little further and explore different “how are you” phrases in Mandarin Chinese, you will instantly sound more like a native and showcase a deeper understanding of the language to the locals. Let’s take a look at some of the most common phrases and ways to say “How are you” in Chinese so that you can start mastering the language in no time.

How to say “How are you?” in Mandarin Chinese

Chinese as a language has over 5,000 years of history and has grown and evolved. While there are many ways to say “how are you” in Chinese, nuance is critical given the language’s rich culture and history. That is why it is essential to pay special attention to the context of the situation before using each phrase that you learn.

Additionally, remember to use the pinyin to help guide your Chinese pronunciation as well.

1. 你好吗? – Nǐ hǎo ma?

Asking 你好吗? (Nǐ hǎo ma?) is the most common way that people usually say “how are you” in Mandarin when they first begin to learn Chinese. But is it actually correct?

While using 你好吗 (Nǐ hǎo ma) in daily Chinese conversation technically isn’t wrong, in reality, native Mandarin Chinese speakers very rarely use this as a greeting as it comes off as very rigid and formal.

Although this straightforward way works fine for beginners, you might want to pick up one of the other phrases from this blog post if you want to sound like a pro.

2. 你怎么样？– Nǐ zěnme yàng？

The question 你怎么样? (Nǐ zěnme yàng?) is probably one of the most natural and common ways Chinese people will ask “How are you?”, and it carries a very casual tone.

In English, a similar expression might be “What’s up?” or “How are you doing? that you can use between friends, classmates, family members, or even coworkers.

3. 一切顺利吗? – Yīqiè shùnlì ma？

You can use 一切顺利吗? (Yīqiè shùnlì ma?) when a friend had an interview, a sibling took a big test at school, or an officemate came back from a crucial meeting at work.

Ask this question in situations where you expect a genuine response from people rather than a simple pleasantry in return.

一切 (Yī qiè) in Chinese means everything and 顺利 (Shùn lì) means smoothly and so the English meaning of 一切顺利吗 (Yī qiè shùn lì ma?) is “Did everything go smoothly?”.

4. 最近忙些什么 – Zuìjìn máng xiē shénme？

Life moves fast, and everyone’s got somewhere to go and someone to meet! Asking the question 你最近忙什么呢? (Nǐ zuì jìn máng xiē shén me?) is a perfect way to find out what a person is busy with. It is a good question to use if you haven’t seen someone in a long time due to a busy schedule.

5. 身体好吗？– Shēntǐ hǎo ma？

The characters 身体 (shēn tǐ) in the Mandarin Chinese language mean “body,” and 身体好吗? question is suitable for asking about your health or the condition of your body.

The right time to use this phrase is when you meet someone much older than you, and you want to check to make sure that they are still in good health.

Another reason that someone might use 身体好吗? (Shēn tǐ hǎo ma?) would be if you are checking up on a friend or family member that you rarely see while talking over the phone.

Culturally in China, it is very important to express concern for someone’s health, especially if you don’t see them often.

6. 老师好? – Lǎoshī hǎo

If you are just learning how to say “how are you?” in Chinese, the chances are that you’re a first-time learner and are just starting to take Mandarin lessons in an academic setting.

老师 (Lǎoshī) is the Chinese word for teacher and so the proper greeting when you meet your Mandarin instructor is none other than “Lǎoshī hǎo?” (老师好?).

Just like you can use 老师 (Lǎoshī) to address your teacher, you can add any subject or type of person you like to make a more personal greeting.

An example of this would be: 大卫好 (Dà wèi hǎo?) meaning “How are you, David?” It shows people a sign of respect and that you understand their social position.

7. 大家好 – Dàjiā hǎo?

While Lǎoshī hǎo? (老师好?) is used by students when greeting a teacher, a teacher will often use the expression 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo) to address the class before the lesson.

It is an all-inclusive term that you can use to greet people in a meeting or when you give a speech in Chinese.

8. 最近去哪儿呢？– Zuì jìn qù nǎr ne?

It may sound a bit nosey and personal to some, but asking someone 最近去哪儿呢? (Zuì jìn qù nǎr ne?) or “Where have you been recently?” can be used as a greeting in Mandarin. However, one of the common mistakes that many non-native Chinese speakers make when replying to this question is giving a too detailed response.

It doesn’t matter where you have been; it’s more important to give a brief overview of what you’ve been up to and how you’ve been spending your time.

9. 什么事？– Shénme shì？

Imagine that you run into someone you know, and they look unusually sick or tired. 什么事? (Shén me shì?) can be used to ask “What’s the matter” when it looks like someone is not having their best day.

Although this might sound like an endearing way to ask “How are you?” in Chinese, unlike 身体好吗? (Shēn tǐ hǎo ma?), this tone is much cruder and, if said in an inappropriate context, can even instigate a fight.

It’s best to avoid using this phrase when talking to someone with a higher rank than you, as it might rub off the wrong way.

10. 你最近过得好吗 – Nǐ zuìjìn guòde hǎo ma?

Imagine you run into an old acquaintance you haven’t seen in a while, and they ask you Nǐ zuìjìn guòde hǎo ma? (你最近过得好吗) meaning “How have you been spending your time?”.

Similar to 最近去哪儿呢? (Zuì jìn qù nǎr ne?), you don’t have to give them a comprehensive list of everything you’ve done; just some highlights will suffice.

There are many ways you can answer this question. For example, you could tell them you’ve been taking piano lessons 钢琴课 (Gāngqín kè), playing video games 玩电子游戏 (Wán diànzǐ yóuxì) or you might be excited to share that you’ve begun to learn Chinese 学习中文 (Xuéxí zhōngwén).

11. 你不舒服吗？– Nǐ bù shūfu ma？

One important lesson you’ll learn if you ever visit China is that Chinese people are very mindful of their health. The translation of this greeting is “Are you uncomfortable” and just like 什么事? (Shén me shì?) you can use it when someone looks tired, sick, or their body is all banged up.

Although it might not be the best idea to assume that someone is unwell based on their appearance, you can also use Nǐ bù shū fu ma? (你不舒服吗?) to check up on someone you love and make sure that they are doing well.

For example, a mother might use this while on the phone with her son at college. Or a husband might ask this question to his pregnant wife via video call while he’s away on business.

12. 还好吗？– Hái hǎo ba？

The question 还好吗? (Hái hǎo ba?) is one of the most versatile Mandarin phrases that people use as a natural response to almost any inquiry about how you are.

The English translation of this saying is “Are you still doing okay?” and the right time to use it is when your friend looks slightly troubled or after someone you know has recently gone through a difficult situation.

One example of using this expression would be after your Chinese teacher has just given you and your classmates a long and complicated lecture all in Mandarin that has left your head spinning.

At the end of the lesson, you might turn to your friend and ask “你还好吧?” (Nǐ hái hǎo ba?) especially if they look a bit dazed and confused.

13. 怎么了? – Zěnme le?

Maybe you are not feeling well, or perhaps you’ve had a brutal lesson. But if you hear 怎么了? (Zěnme le?), you know that you must not look so good. This phrase means “What’s the matter with you?” and is usually said with concern.

Chinese people tend to often inquire about your health and physical condition. While this may sound like harsh criticism, it comes from a place of love.

14. 你吃了吗？– Nǐ chīle ma?

Not such a long time ago, during China’s Great Famine, many people did not have a steady supply of food, and sometimes, the only meal of the day could consist of just a single plain bowl of white rice. By seeing if someone had eaten or not, it was a sign of their health, financial situation, and overall well-being.

While today China has no shortage of food supply and things are looking better than ever, many people still remember these times, so asking if someone has eaten or not is still culturally ingrained in China as a common Mandarin greeting.

There is a true cultural feeling of love behind these words, and if you hear this phrase, it may also be an open invitation to join someone for a meal which can be the opportune time to practice your Mandarin language skills.

How to respond when somebody asks “How are you?” in Chinese

So now that you’ve learned some new Mandarin phrases to ask someone how are you doing in Chinese, do you know how to answer back? While there can be many ways to reply, here are some of the most versatile responses you can use in almost any situation.

1. 我还好 – Wǒ Hái hǎo

Wǒ Hái hǎo (我还好) is one of the most simple and most common ways to reply if someone asks you how you are. The meaning can be translated as “I’m still good” and can be used as in the following:

A: 大卫， 你最近怎么样？ “David, how have you been?”

(Dà wèi, nǐ zuì jìn xiē zěn me yàng?)

B: 我还好，你呢? “I’m fine, and you?”

(Wǒ Hái hǎo, nǐ ne?)

2. 我不错 – Wǒ yě bùcuò

我不错 (Wǒ yě bùcuò) means “Not bad myself.” Use this answer only after the other person has told you how they are. It is one way to indicate if you are still doing good, but just not too good.

A: 我还好，你呢? “I’m still doing well, and you?”

(Wǒ Hái hǎo, nǐ ne?)

B: 我也不错。 “I’m not too bad myself. “

3. 我最近忙… – Wǒ zuì jìn máng…

Tell someone how you have been by answering them what you’ve been doing and what’s been keeping you busy. Have you been busy having fun with friends? Work? Have you been studying Chinese? Let your friends know!

A: 你最近忙些什么？”What have you been up to?”

(Nǐ zuìjìn máng xiē shénme?)

B: 我最近忙学习，功课太多了 “I’ve been swamped with studying, I have so much homework!”

(Wǒ zuìjìn máng xuéxí, gōngkè tài duō le)

4. 混日子吧 – Hùn rìzi ba

So how do you respond if things in your life have been pretty consistent and not much has changed? A good translation for 混日子吧 (Hùn rìzi ba) is “same old, same old.” It is a very casual way to tell someone that your life is moving at a steady pace.

A: 大卫，好久不见! 你最近过得好吗? “David, long time no see! How have you been?”

(Dà wèi, jǎojiǔ bùjiàn! Nǐ zuìjìn guòde hǎo ma?)

B: 混日子吧，你呢? “Same old, same old. How about you?)

(Hùn rìzi ba, nǐ ne?)

5. 别提了 – Biétíle

While hopefully not the case, after a bad day, sometimes you don’t even want to talk about it. The meaning of 别提了 (Biétíle) is “Don’t even ask” and while often used as a joke among friends, can also be used to brush aside any unwanted question.

A: 琳娜，你有什么事? “Linna, is everything alright?”

(Lín nà, nǐ yǒu shénme shì?)

B: 别提了。。。 “Don’t even ask…”

Now you know how to say “How are you?” in Chinese Mandarin. Going up to someone and asking the question may be difficult at first, but a big part of learning a language is making mistakes and growing from there.

What may have seemed difficult yesterday may feel like a breeze today if you practice enough, so keep your head held high and do your best. 加油!

20 Ways to Ask ‘How Are You’ in English [Expand Your Vocabulary]

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Комментарии • 394

Fantastic explanation.Thank you very much indeed!

@Armando Bontempo ķ

@Speak Confident English THANK. YOU. VERY. MUCH
ALL. THE. BEST
GID. BLESS. ALL YOU
GEORGE CORTEZE
BRAZIL
RIO. DE..JANEIRO. CITY

Hi Annemarie! Thanks a lot for your lessons and advises. I agree with the others students: your videos are always very entertaining and usefful. Congratulations from Buenos Aires to our interesting and attractive teacher!

Hi Annemarie,
Your program is short and sweet, and your pronunciation is very clear, the speed is perfectly right, everything is awesome! The contents are pretty useful as well. I’ve just subscribed your channel and gave you a thumb up. Well done. And I’m glad that your channel accidentally pops up on my smartphone, so that I can learn and improve my spoken English and more understand American’s practices and their culture as well. Anyway, deeply appreciate your video clips and keep it up. You have a wonderful day.
Cheers
Lorraine from Auckland

Thank you for the kind comments Lorraine, and welcome to the channel!

Hello Annemarie! Thank you for this amazing class. 👏👏👏

Amazing!! I always struggled with these questions and wondered what these mean. Thank you for sharing such incredible content especially with respect to the formal conversation at the workplace.

Thank you, Harman! I’m glad to know my lesson was helpful to you!

Love this lesson! Very useful to me. Many thanks.

Wonderful video. Thank you. I’ve found unique alternatives in this video to ask how are you that’s not seen elsewhere and better explained comparing to some other English teaching youtubers.

This video was one of the best since it has been uploaded just before we stop working from home and coming back to the office. Everyday, I am in the middle of the same situation for greeting to many colleagues after a long time, and I was looking for various interesting questions and responses. Many thanks dear Annemarie!

I love this lesson is really helpful for the non native English speaker. Thanks so much! 🥰

The, «Asking a second time» tip is very important especially in the Southern US, for it is an extension of other polite ways of signaling to the other person you really care/are in a stable position, etc..
For example, in the Southern US, if someone asked you if you wanted something to eat or drink and you said, «No, thank you,» people would always ask,
«Are you sure?» which is a signal for «please, I have enough to share, help yourself/take some. »
According to Historian Ken Burns, this «2nd asking» rose up after the Civil War. Most people were poor during the 12 year occupation period, but still held to polite social rules & niceties, like the sharing of food when in the presence of others.
However many were starving or close to it, so mothers re-taught their children to always say «No, thank you,» at the first asking— and only if a 2nd asking occurred, were they OK to except food /& hospitality from others.
This was a way of signaling there was indeed «enough» to share and the sharing posed no burden to the person asking.

8 Ways to Ask “How Are You” in French: From Formal to Friendly

Knowing how to ask “how are you?” is fundamental for meeting people or making friends in French.

Read on to learn eight different ways to ask “how are you?” in French, with a brief explanation of each phrase.

And don’t forget to click on the phrase to hear it pronounced!

Contents

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Where to practice “how are you” in French

Even if you haven’t been exposed to too much French yet, there are some great resources out there that’ll help you practice asking “how are you?” and other basic greetings.

Quizlet

Quizlet is a great website for quickly learning French greetings, including “how are you?” and other basic introduction phrases.

Start by going through the flashcards to memorize the greetings. These flashcards are especially great for memorizing helpful phrases before your first trip abroad.

Then, you can explore the other activities, such as “learn,” “write,” “spell” and “test.” Finally, Quizlet incorporates these words into fun games.

FluentU

On the FluentU program, you can watch authentic French videos with interactive subtitles.

If you want to see the phrases listed below used in action, just do a search for them and the program will dig up any videos in its library that use that phrase. This will allow you to see them used in context, by native French speakers.

FluentU lets you learn new words through various exercises that test your listening, speaking, writing and reading comprehension. You can save words to flashcard decks and review them with personalized quizzes.

Quizizz

Quizizz is a site that does just as its name suggests: it quizzes you!

Here, you can find fun quizzes on lots of topics, including French greetings. And the best part is that you can take quizzes without even making an account!

You can either learn the greetings by taking the quiz independently on the main page, or you can push “practice” to see how you stack up against other players. It’s quite addictive!

BBC’s Bitesize GCSE French

The BBC hosts a great site called Bitesize, which has very useful information for French learners.

Here, you’ll find a quiz that not only teaches you greetings but also context. Questions include situations like “You run into your elderly neighbor at 7 p.m. What do you say?”

The questions also make you think about formal vs. informal French.

Wikibooks

It might come as a surprise, but Wikibooks hosts one of the most comprehensive free French learning books dedicated to asking “how are you?” and using general French greetings.

Just read the page from top to bottom, memorizing the words and listening to the pronunciation by clicking on the “play” icon.

At the bottom of the page, you’ll see lots of exercises you can complete.

8 Ways to Ask “How Are You” in French (Plus Responses, Pronunciation and More!)

1. Comment allez-vous? (How are you?)

When to ask

“Comment allez-vous?” (“How are you?”) is probably the most basic way of asking “how are you” in French. It’s used in formal situations, such as with your boss or French teacher.

How to respond

Respond with a simple “Je vais bien, et vous?” (“I’m doing well, and you?”). Likewise, you can just say “Bien, et vous?” (“Well, and you?”). The key is the et vous (and you), which prompts a similar answer.

Grammar

The first thing to note is the word vous (you). Vous is the formal “you” in French. Of course, in English the word “you” can be either formal or informal, but in French, as you will see ahead, we use tu for informal situations, such as hanging out with friends, and vous for everything else.

Vous is also the plural “you” in French, be it formal or informal. When in doubt, use vous not tu. If the person you’re speaking with wants to be informal, then they’ll tell you.

Now, look at aller (to go). In French, you’re not so much asking “how are you?” but rather “how are you going?” In this case, allez is the conjugated form of aller when used with the pronoun vous.

Finally, we use a hyphen to invert the subject and verb of the question to avoid an awkward est-ce que. Est-ce que is a basic component of asking formal questions in French. It usually goes at the beginning of a sentence:

Est-ce que tu veux manger avec moi? (Do you want to eat with me?)

But fortunately, we can use a hyphen and just switch the subject and the verb, such as in “Comment allez-vous?”

2. Comment ça va? (How’s it going?)

When to ask

“Comment ça va?” (“How’s it going?”) is basically an informal version of “Comment allez-vous?” and you should expect a similar response. As this greeting is an informal way of asking “how are you?” you should use it with friends.

How to respond

The quickest response to “Comment ça va?” is “Ça va bien, et toi?” (“It’s going well, how about you?”). Memorize this question and answer combination because you’ll use it a lot. If you’re not doing well, you can say “Ça va mal” (“It’s not going well”).

Grammar

Again we’re using comment (how) to start the question. However, now we use ça, which in this case can be translated as “it.” Finally, we have va, the conjugated version of aller (to go) in the third person singular. Note there’s no hyphen this time because we put the subject (ça) first.

3. Comment vas-tu? (How are you?)

When to ask

“Comment vas-tu?” (“How are you?”) is the most accurate informal way of saying “Comment allez-vous?” As you’d expect, you use this way of asking “how are you?” in informal situations.

How to respond

The response is almost the same as with “Comment allez-vous?” You say “Je vais bien, et toi?” (“I am doing well, and you?”). If you’re doing so-so, you can respond “Comme ci comme ça” (“So-so”) in both informal and formal situations.

Grammar

The main difference here is that we’ve replaced vous with tu in the question and et vous with et toi in the response. This is because it’s the informal version of “Comment allez-vous?”

4. Ça va? (How’s it going?)

When to ask

“Ça va?” (“How’s it going?” or “Are you okay?”) is an even more informal way of asking “Comment ça va?” Alternatively, it can express concern: “Are you okay?!” It’s generally used with people you know very well.

When something doesn’t work, “Ça va pas” (“It’s not alright”) is often used to express frustration.

How to respond

If “Ça va?” asks “How’s it going?” the answer is the same as with our second phrase (“Ça va bien, et toi?”). If someone is asking if you’re okay, you can say “Oui, ça va, merci” (“I’m okay, thank you”).

Grammar

The only difference between this and “Comment ça va?” is that we’ve eliminated comment (how). This is very informal and shouldn’t be used in formal writing.

5. Tu vas bien? / Vous allez bien? (You’re doing well?)

When to ask

I’ve combined these two because you now know the difference between formal and informal “you.” “Tu vas bien?” / “Vous allez bien?” (“You’re doing well?”) can be used to ask “how are you?” or to express preoccupation. It depends on the tone and context.

How to respond

In either context, you can respond with “Oui, je vais bien, et toi / vous?” (“Yeah, I’m fine, and you?”) or “Non, je ne vais pas bien” (“I’m not doing well”).

Grammar

In French, especially when speaking, we can ask questions by just raising the tone of our voice. Thus, we avoid cumbersome phrases like est-ce que, and we don’t have to worry about hyphens.

6. Quoi de neuf? (What’s new?)

When to ask

“Quoi de neuf?” (“What’s new?”) isn’t exactly asking “how are you?” but it’s still a question you can ask when you start a conversation. It can also be translated as “What’s up?” This is an informal question you ask someone you haven’t seen in a while.

How to respond

The most common response is “Pas grand-chose” (“Not much”). You can also say “Rien de special” (“Nothing special”) or “Rien de nouveau” (“Nothing new”).

Grammar

This is almost a literal word-for-word translation of “What’s new?” in English. Quoi means “what,” but it’s not interchangeable with que (what). Normally, quoi has to be the second word in a sentence, not the first, but “Quoi de neuf?” is an interesting exception that you should memorize.

7. Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? (What’s wrong?)

When to ask

“Qu’est-ce qu’il y a?” is a way of asking “What’s wrong?” It’s used to express concern and can be both formal and informal. Although it doesn’t exactly mean “how are you?” it’s a common way to start a conversation with someone you know.

How to respond

If nothing is wrong, you could say something like “T’inquiète (pas), je vais bien” (Don’t worry, I’m fine). Otherwise, you can explain what’s happening.

Grammar

This is a somewhat complicated phrase. We start with que (what) followed by the aforementioned est-ce que and, finally, il y a (there is), such that we are literally asking, “What is there?”

8. Que fais-tu? (What’s up?)

When to ask

“Que fais-tu?” literally means “What are you doing?” But, it’s a great conversation starter because it can also be interpreted as “What’s up?” This is informal because of the use of tu.

How to respond

If you’re doing nothing, you can say “Pas grand-chose” (“Not much”) or, like in the previous example, you can explain what you’re doing.

Grammar

We start with que (what) followed by the conjugated verb faire (to do). We also invert the subject using a hyphen, thus avoiding est-ce que.

As you can see, there are several ways to ask “how are you?” depending on what exactly you want to ask and who you’re talking to.

Obviously, memorizing whole sentences is not the best way to learn French, but there are some fundamental phrases that even beginners can learn to get quick conversation practice.

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