how are you

UK/haʊ ˈɑː juː/US/haʊ ˈɑɹ ju/Australia/hæɔ ˈaː jʉː/Australia/- jə/

phrase

An informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include

“I'm very well, thank you. How are you? (formal) I'm fine, thank you. / Fine, thanks. (informal) / Fine, and you? (informal)”

Similar
how do you do?how are you doing?how's it going?how's things?how's tricks?what's up?how's it hanging?alright me babber
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Meanings

phrasehow are you?

alternative informal how're you · alternative initialism HRU

  1. idiomaticAn informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include

    I'm very well, thank you. How are you? (formal) I'm fine, thank you. / Fine, thanks. (informal) / Fine, and you? (informal)

    Synonyms: how do you do?, how are you doing?, how's it going?, how's things?, how's tricks?, what's up?, how's it hanging?, alright me babber

  2. Irelandidiomatic(Following a noun phrase; stress on are) An expression of derision, that the preceding referent is unworthy of the name. In form of an exclamation, and thus often followed by an exclamation mark.

    1967 July 20: Questions. Oral Answers. — Free Travel for Old Age Pensioners. Dáil Éireann debates Mr. Dunne: "A small point", says the Minister for Justice. Mr. Ryan: Justice, how are you! He would not recognise it in this world or the next.

    1 more example

    'Christmas how are you!' exclaimed Jim O'Hanlon ruefully. 'We will remember this one for quite a while anyway.' He was grateful that at least no one was injured in the incident.

    2013 December 31, “'Christmas how are you! We'll remember this one for a while'"”, in Gorey Guardian

    Synonyms: my foot!, my eye!, my arse!, my ass!, indeed!

Synonyms & antonyms

phraseAn informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include

Similar
how do you do?how are you doing?how's it going?how's things?how's tricks?what's up?how's it hanging?alright me babberalright me loveray up me duckhiya doin'how are thingshow are you diddlinghow are you doinghow are you getting alonghow are you goinghow bisthow do you dohow farest thou

phrase(Following a noun phrase; stress on are) An expression of derision, that the preceding referent is unworthy of the name. In form of an exclamation, and thus often followed by an exclamation mark.

Similar
my foot!my eye!my arse!my ass!indeed!
Also see
alrightciaohellohiyawhatcha know goodyou alright

Translations

Afrikaans hoe gaan dit?
  • hoe gaan dit?greeting
Ancient Greek τί πράσσεις, πῶς ἔχεις
  • τί πράσσεις (tí prásseis)greeting
  • πῶς ἔχεις (pôs ékheis)greeting
Arabic كَيْف الْحال؟, كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
  • كَيْف الْحال؟ (kayf al-ḥāl?)greeting
  • كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ (kayfa ḥāluka?)greeting
  • كَيْف حَالَك؟ (kayf ḥālak?)greeting
  • كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ (kayfa ḥāluki?)greeting
  • كَيْف حَالِك؟ (kayf ḥālik?)greeting
Basque zer moduz
  • zer moduzgreeting
Bengali আপনি কেমন আছেন?, তুমি কেমন আছ?
  • আপনি কেমন আছেন? (apni kemon achen?)greeting
  • তুমি কেমন আছ? (tumi kemon ach?)greeting
  • তুই কেমন আছিস? (tui kemon achis?)greeting
Bulgarian как си?, как сте?
  • как си? (kak si)greeting
  • как сте? (kak ste)greeting
Catalan com estàs?, com està?
  • com estàs?greeting
  • com està?greeting
  • com va?greeting
Chinese Cantonese 你好嗎？ /你好吗？
  • 你好嗎？ /你好吗？ (nei⁵ hou² maa³?)greeting
Chinese Mandarin 你好嗎？ /你好吗？
  • 你好嗎？ /你好吗？ (nǐhǎo ma?)greeting
Czech jak se máš?, jak se máte?
  • jak se máš?greeting
  • jak se máte?greeting
Danish hvordan har du det?, hvordan går det?
  • hvordan har du det?greeting
  • hvordan går det?greeting
Dutch hoe gaat het?, hoe is het?
  • hoe gaat het?greeting
  • hoe is het?greeting
  • alles goed?greeting
Esperanto kiel vi fartas?
  • kiel vi fartas?greeting
Estonian kuidas läheb?, kuidas käsi käib?
  • kuidas läheb?greeting
  • kuidas käsi käib?greeting
Finnish kuinka voitte?, kuinka voit?
  • kuinka voitte?greeting
  • kuinka voit?greeting
  • miten menee?greeting
  • mitä kuuluu?greeting
French comment allez-vous, comment vas-tu
  • comment allez-vousgreeting
  • comment vas-tugreeting
  • ça vagreeting
  • comment ça vagreeting
German wie geht es dir?, wie geht es Ihnen?
  • wie geht es dir?greeting
  • wie geht es Ihnen?greeting
  • wie geht es?greeting
  • wie geht’s?greeting
  • wie geht es euch?greeting
Greek τι κάνεις, τι κάνετε
  • τι κάνειςgreeting
  • τι κάνετεgreeting
  • πώς είσαι; (pós eísai?)greeting
  • πώς είστε; (pós eíste?)greeting
Hawaiian pehea ʻoe?
  • pehea ʻoe?greeting
Hebrew ?מה שלומך
  • ?מה שלומך (ma shlomkha?)greeting
Hindi क्या हाल है?, आप कैसे हैं?
  • क्या हाल है? (kyā hāl hai?)greeting
  • आप कैसे हैं? (āp kaise ha͠i?)greeting
  • कैसे हो? (kaise ho?)greeting
  • कैसा चल रहा है? (kaisā cal rahā hai?)greeting
Hungarian hogy vagy?, hogy van?
  • hogy vagy?greeting
  • hogy van?greeting
Icelandic hvað segirðu gott?, hvað segir þú gott?
  • hvað segirðu gott?greeting
  • hvað segir þú gott?greeting
  • hvað segiði gott?greeting
  • hvað segið þið gott?greeting
  • hvað segið þér gott?greeting
  • hvað segirðu?greeting
  • hvað segir þú?greeting
  • hvernig hefurðu það?greeting
  • hvað syngur í þér?greeting
Indonesian apa kabar
  • apa kabargreeting
Irish conas tá tú?, conas taoi?
  • conas tá tú?greeting
  • conas taoi?greeting
  • conas tánn tú?greeting
  • conas tá sibh?greeting
  • conas tánn sibh?greeting
  • cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?greeting
  • cén chaoi a bhfuil sibh?greeting
  • cad é an dóigh atá ort?greeting
  • cad é mar tá tú?greeting
  • cad é mar tá sibh?greeting
Italian come stai?, come sta?
  • come stai?greeting
  • come sta?greeting
Japanese お元気ですか, ご機嫌いかがですか
  • お元気ですか (o-genki desu ka)greeting
  • ご機嫌いかがですか (go-kigen ikaga desu ka)greeting
Korean 처음 뵙겠습니다, 어떻게 지내세요?
  • 처음 뵙겠습니다 (cheo'eum boepgetseumnida)greeting
  • 어떻게 지내세요? (eotteoke jinaeseyo?)greeting
  • 잘 지냈어요? (jal jinaesseoyo?)greeting
  • 안녕하세요? (annyeong-haseyo?)greeting
  • 안녕하십니까? (annyeong-hasimnikka?)greeting
  • 안녕? (annyeong?)greeting
Latin quid agis?, quomodo es?
  • quid agis?greeting
  • quomodo es?greeting
Latvian kā iet?, kā tev iet?
  • kā iet?greeting
  • kā tev iet?greeting
  • kā klājas?greeting
  • kā jums klājas?greeting
Lithuanian kaip tau sekasi?
  • kaip tau sekasi?greeting
Malay apa khabar
  • apa khabargreeting
Māori kei te pēhea koe?
  • kei te pēhea koe?greeting
Norwegian Bokmål hvordan står det til?, hvordan går det?
  • hvordan står det til?greeting
  • hvordan går det?greeting
  • hvordan har du det?greeting
Polish jak się masz?, jak się macie?
  • jak się masz?greeting
  • jak się macie?greeting
  • co słychać?greeting
  • co u ciebie?greeting
  • co u was?greeting
Portuguese como vai? como está?, como estás?
  • como vai? como está?greeting
  • como estás?greeting
  • como você vai?greeting
  • tudo bem?greeting
Romanian ce mai faceți?, ce mai faci?
  • ce mai faceți?greeting
  • ce mai faci?greeting
Russian как дела́?, как пожива́ешь?
  • как дела́? (kak delá?)greeting
  • как пожива́ешь? (kak poživáješʹ?)greeting
  • как пожива́ете? (kak poživájete?)greeting
Scottish Gaelic ciamar a tha thu?, ciamar a tha sibh?
  • ciamar a tha thu?greeting
  • ciamar a tha sibh?greeting
  • (Argyll) dè mar a tha thu?greeting
  • (Argyll) dè mar a tha sibh?greeting
Slovak ako sa máš?, ako sa máte?
  • ako sa máš?greeting
  • ako sa máte?greeting
Spanish ¿cómo está?, ¿qué tal?
  • ¿cómo está? (usted)greeting
  • ¿qué tal?greeting
Swahili habari gani?, hujambo
  • habari gani?greeting
  • hujambogreeting
Swedish hur är det?, hur är läget?
  • hur är det?greeting
  • hur är läget?greeting
  • hur står det till?greeting
  • hur mår du?greeting
Tagalog kumusta?, kumusta ka?
  • kumusta?greeting
  • kumusta ka?greeting
  • kumusta ka na?greeting
  • kumusta na?greeting
Tamil எப்படி இருக்கீங்க
  • எப்படி இருக்கீங்க (eppaṭi irukkīṅka)greeting
Thai สบายดีไหม
  • สบายดีไหม (sà-baai dii mǎi)greeting
Turkish nasılsınız?, nasılsın?
  • nasılsınız?greeting
  • nasılsın?greeting
Ukrainian як спра́ви?, як ся ма́єш?
  • як спра́ви? (jak správy?)greeting
  • як ся ма́єш? (jak sja máješ?)greeting
  • як ся ма́єте? (jak sja májete?)greeting
  • як пожива́єш? (jak požyváješ?)greeting
  • як пожива́єте? (jak požyvájete?)greeting
  • як діла́? (jak dilá?)greeting
Urdu کْیا حال ہَے؟, آپ کَیسے ہَیں؟
  • کْیا حال ہَے؟ (kyā hāl hai?)greeting
  • آپ کَیسے ہَیں؟ (āp kaise ha͠i?)greeting
  • کَیسے ہو؟ (kaise ho?)greeting
Vietnamese khoẻ không?, khoẻ chứ?
  • khoẻ không?greeting
  • khoẻ chứ?greeting
  • dạo này sao?greeting
  • ăn cơm chưa?greeting
  • ăn cơm chửa? (Thanh Hóa)greeting
Welsh sut wyt ti?, sut dach chi?
  • sut wyt ti?greeting
  • sut dach chi?greeting
Yiddish וואָס הערט זיך בײַ דיר?, וואָס מאַכסטו?
  • וואָס הערט זיך בײַ דיר? (vos hert zikh bay dir?)greeting
  • וואָס מאַכסטו? (vos makhstu?)greeting
  • וואָס מאַכט איר? (vos makht ir?)greeting
  • וואָס מאַכט אַ ייִד? (vos makht a yid?)greeting
  • וואָס טוט זיך? (vos tut zikh?)greeting
  • וואָס הערט זיך? (vos hert zikh?)greeting
Zulu unjani?, ninjani?
  • unjani?greeting
  • ninjani?greeting
Cite this entry
APA

how are you. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20are%20you

MLA

“how are you.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20are%20you. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “how are you,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20are%20you.

Source: how are you on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.