# How have you been these days?



## yuechu

大家好！

In English, "How are you these days?" or "How have you been these days?" are fairly common questions. I know that in Chinese you can say "你最近怎么样？". Are there any other common 说法 to ask how someone is doing? (I know that 你好吗, for example, is quite rarely used, right? (except perhaps in formal situations?)
Thanks!


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## SimonTsai

Perhaps 你最近過得怎麼樣. (你最近還好嗎 sounds like '_Are you okay these days_'.)

你好嗎 would make me think of 我們這一家.


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## NewAmerica

近来无恙？ （Traditionally spoken by well-educated people)
近来可好？ （Spoken by both well-educated and poorly-educated people)
最近过得咋样？（Spoken by illiterates)


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## wha002

NewAmerica said:


> 近来无恙？ （Traditionally spoken by well-educated people)
> 近来可好？ （Spoken by both well-educated and poorly-educated people)
> 最近过得咋样？（Spoken by illiterates)



I think the first two are rarely used in spoken language.


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## SimonTsai

I agree with @wha002. Both of them sound archaic.


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## wha002

If you are looking for ways to greet each other, you can say “弄啥呢?（What are you doing?）” or “去哪啊?（Where are you going?）” to close friend.

These questions are not supposed to be answered seriously. Just greetings.


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## NewAmerica

wha002 said:


> I think the first two are rarely used in spoken language.





SimonTsai said:


> I agree with @wha002. Both of them sound archaic.



 I don't know where both of you actually live. But here's Mainland China in 21st century :



> 老朋友聊天 *大约最常用的开头语 莫过于:近来可好*
> 回答大约都是:还不错啊。
> 人人网：近来可好 – 【人人分享-人人网】





> 近来可好？
> 如果是普通朋友这么问我，大概无论情况如何，我都会回答“还不错”或者“还可以”。
> 近来可好



Maybe your friends are so different.


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## wha002

有谁会见面的时候说：近来可好？ 我确实无法理解。这句话只会出现在书面语中，比如书信或者手机信息吧？

Yes. Maybe your friends are so different.


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## hx1997

wha002 said:


> 弄啥呢?（What are you doing?）



This sounds like 北方方言. 南方人 may understand but won't use it themselves.


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## philchinamusical

wha002 said:


> 有谁会见面的时候说：近来可好？


People around me do that quite often... I am in Shanghai. And "弄啥呢" is more like the expression in the middle-northern part like 河南, 山东, 山西...

A more colloquial way and a more common way (I think) is "最近怎么样?"


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## SimonTsai

philchinamusical said:


> "弄啥呢" is more like the expression in the middle-northern part.


Perhaps. People here tend to ask, '你在做甚麼？'


> A more colloquial way [...] (I think) is "最近怎么样?"


Both of our suggestions are very similar to the one that the original poster already provided.


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## fyl

最近忙什么呢？


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## yuechu

Thank you all for your suggestions!


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## SuperXW

“弄啥呢”问题相当于"what's up"，不过问法很方言。“最近忙什么呢” is far more common.


wha002 said:


> 有谁会见面的时候说：近来可好？


在21世纪中国，除了在少数地区或故意装逼的场合，可能还是会有某些自认为well-educated的人士日常也会说的。我等poorly-educated和illiterates的俗人反正是不说的，否则我那些没教养的朋友们会反问“你没事吧？”
拿网络散文日记当口语，可能某些人的朋友只存在在网络上。


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## SimonTsai

I am amused. And I am very sure that very few here would say that in everyday life.

But perhaps there is some regional difference, given @philchinamusical's post.


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 可能某些人的朋友只存在在网络上。


你說話何必常常帶刺？  用比較不缺德的說法也能表達相似的概念.


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## wha002

弄啥呢，确实是方言。如果换成普通话，味道全无。

但愿yuechu没有被我们弄糊涂


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## philchinamusical

wha002 said:


> 弄啥呢，确实是方言。如果换成普通话，味道全无。


那就最好问清楚yuechu对话的对方是哪里人，因为如果是不说“弄啥呢”这类方言的话，比如广东人、福建人、江苏人、浙江人、海南人、广西人、云南人...还是会不知所云，甚至以为yuechu是在逗笑什么的。


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## YoungFirst

近来可好 spoken or formal situations are all OK.


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## yuechu

philchinamusical said:


> 那就最好问清楚yuechu对话的对方是哪里人


I know people from many Chinese-speaking regions, so standard Mandarin phrases which are not too formal were what I was looking for. (and perhaps how to say it in Cantonese, if it is different)
再次谢谢大家的帮忙！


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## Skatinginbc

yuechu said:


> ...standard Mandarin...


I don't consider 弄啥呢 standard.  It may not be readily intelligible to some people. For example, if I hear someone say 弄啥呢 to me, I would interpret it as either a real question (like 你在做什麼) or a mild reproach (like 你在搞什麼名堂).


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## NewAmerica

Skatinginbc said:


> I don't consider 弄啥呢 standard... I would interpret it as either a real question (like 你在做什麼) or a mild reproach (like 你在搞什麼名堂).



   确实，”弄啥呢“这句话，不但其词粗鲁，而且其义粗鄙，跟楼主要求的文明的、标准的汉语表达背道而驰。


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