26 Ways To Ask “How Are You” In English

Joey Tribbiani, also known as the neurosurgeon Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of our Lives, is one of the main characters in the American television series Friends. He is fun and funny. He is caring and loyal. He is sweet and charming. He loves sandwiches, especially a mean meatball sub. And he has a very catchy catchphrase that is "How you doin." In Joey’s case, asking “How you doin” has a bit of a flirty undertone, but really this expression is just a jazzier version of the question "How are you?"

Whether you’ve noticed this or not, there are many variations to the simple question “How are you” in the English language. These alternative ways range from very informal to very formal questions. So when using any of these how-are-you variants, it is important to know who you’re talking to and what the situation of the said encounter is all about. Again, that’s because you don’t want to be dropping a super casual “What’s up” when you really should be asking a very polite “How are you” with a handshake.