How To Say “How Are You” In Different Languages

Blog
17 July 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
Unsplash: Victor Dasilva

It is always a wonderful idea to ask someone “How are you” no matter the time of day. However, just don’t expect a detailed answer of how the person’s day is actually going, because that doesn’t really happen. Well, okay, it happens sometimes. But most of the time, a common and automatic response to this question is “I’m fine” or “I’m okay” or “I’m good” no matter how the person is doing. Unless the person you are talking to wants to share their current situation, then you would probably hear more words as a reply. In other words, the answer to this simple question really depends on what the person wants to share. And any reply is accepted, be it something short or something long.

As easy as it is, this question is also a casual icebreaker when talking to others because asking “How are you” is just another way of saying “Hello” to the people around you. So, if you ever want to start a conversation with someone, you can try asking the person how they are doing. Would you like to know how to ask this question in different ways just in case…

  • English: How are you? (how are you)
  • French: Comment ça va? (como sah vah)
  • Korean: 어떻게 지냈어요? (eotteohge jinaess-eoyo)
  • Japanese: おげんきですか?(o genkidesu ka)
  • German: Wie geht es Ihnen? (vee geht es eehnen)
  • Dutch: Hoe gaat het? (hoo khat het)
  • Italian: Come stai? (comeh stai)
  • Spanish: ¿Cómo estás? (cohmoh estas)
  • Tagalog: Kumusta ka? (kumusta kah)
  • Indonesian: Apa kabar? (apa kabar)
  • Polish: Co słychać? (tso swyhach)
  • Turkish: Nasılsınız? (nasilsinuz)
  • Swedish: Hur är det? (hur ar det)
  • Norwegian: Hvordan går det? (vordan gahr det)
  • Mandarin Chinese: 你好吗?(nǐ hǎo ma)
  • Danish: Hvordan har du det? (vohrdahn har du det)
  • Vietnamese: Bạn khỏe không? (bahn kwey kong)
  • European Portuguese: Como está? (como esta)
  • Brazilian Portuguese: Como você está? (como voseh esta)