# ?מה קורה vs. ?מה המצב vs. ?מה העניינים



## sawyeric1

What's the difference between these? What are the English counterparts to each one?

Thanks


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## slus

What's up?
How's it going?
What's going on?


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## sawyeric1

Okay, so "מה המצב" would be the only one that you reply to with how you're doing.


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## slus

They are quite interchangeable


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## sawyeric1

So you can respond with how you're doing to any of them?


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## GeriReshef

They are all informal, and the informal answer can be:
הכל בסדר
תודה רבה
אחלה
סבבה
As a matter of fact,  each one can be used also as an answer, or as a followup question, in an informal small talk, mainly when both sides don't have something meaningful to say:

א: מה קורה?
ב: אחלה. מה אתך?
א: סבבה. אז מה המצב?
ב: תודה רבה. מה העניינים אצלך?


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## sawyeric1

It seems strange to answer only with "תודה רבה". What about for "מה שלומך" and "מה נשמע" - can you answer with just "תודה רבה" to them too?


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## GeriReshef

I don't know if in English you are expected to answer to "how are you?" or to "how do you do?",
but they are perceived more as a polite care and not as requests for information.
I hear many times people treat "מה שלומך?" as "שלום" and do not respond directly to the question.


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## amikama

GeriReshef said:


> א: סבבה. אז מה המצב?
> ב: תודה רבה. מה העניינים אצלך?


Do you really answer תודה רבה to these questions?  I find it very weird.


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## Ali Smith

GeriReshef said:


> א: מה קורה?
> ב: אחלה. מה אתך?
> א: סבבה. אז מה המצב?
> ב: תודה רבה. מה העניינים אצלך?


Does מה אתך? mean "What about you?" or "What's wrong with you?" or something else?


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## amikama

Ali Smith said:


> Does מה אתך? mean "What about you?" or "What's wrong with you?" or something else?


In this context, "what about you?".


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## GeriReshef

amikama said:


> In this context, "what about you?".


In this context - yes.
As all those formulation are colloquial, they tend to depend on the context and probably some other factors.
For example, when you ask "אתה השתגעת?" (are you nuts?) the intonation is different than in "מה שלומך?", I guess in English too, though they both are formulated as questions: the first one is a question which expresses criticism, and the second one a question which express friendship or politeness.


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## Egmont

GeriReshef said:


> ... I guess in English too...


צודק לגמרי; entirely correct.


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