# How are you?



## jana.bo99

Hello to all,

I have seen here, that Mandarin language is not so difficult. I like that language.

My first question is short:

How are you?

Thank you!


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## Frank06

Hi,

I think almost every Chinese course starts with this one...


jana.bo99 said:


> How are you?


It can be
Nǐ hǎo! or Nǐ hǎo ma?
你好! or 你好吗?

You'll find a lot of useful links in the resources pages of this forum.

Good luck with it!

Frank


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## mononoke

I can add two more options to Frank06's ones

Ni3 zen3meyang4  /  Ni3 de shen1ti3 zen3meyang4 (this last one means "how's your health", a form to ask how are you)

你怎么样？  /   你的身体怎么样？


hope to have helped u


Mononoke


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## kastner

A direct translation is 你好吗？ ni hao ma?
But you will find Chinese native speakers never use it to greet people,
generally, they will use 你怎么样？ ni zen me yang? or 你最近怎么样？ ni zui jin zen me yang?

Add:
or 好久不见！ Hao jiu bu jian (Long time no see)


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## kareno999

Frank06 said:


> I think almost every Chinese course starts with this one...
> 
> It can be
> Nǐ hǎo! or Nǐ hǎo ma?
> 你好! or 你好吗?


You can forget "你好吗". Nobody says that. It sounds ridiculously to me.

You can use "你好" to greet people who you don't know very well, especially when you are introduced to somebody for the first time.
When it comes to the greetings among close friend, there are too many options (usually a simple "嘿hei4" will do the job ). Unfortunately "你好" is not one of them.


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## Frank06

Hi,


kastner said:


> But you will find Chinese native speakers never use it to greet people,


 


kareno999 said:


> You can forget "你好吗". Nobody says that. It sounds ridiculously to me.


 
So I can safely classify that phrase under the header 'only used in language courses'? 
Wow, okay! Thanks for the information!!!!  

Groetjes,

Frank


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## kenny4528

If you use 你好嗎 in conversation on the phone， it sounds good:



> 好久不見。你好嗎?


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## ntmaster

kastner said:


> A direct translation is 你好吗？ ni hao ma?
> But you will find Chinese native speakers never use it to greet people,
> generally, they will use 你怎么样？ ni zen me yang? or 你最近怎么样？ ni zui jin zen me yang?



你怎麼樣? and 你最近怎麼樣?  would sound odd to Taiwanese people unless the two are very closed friends. I think Taiwanese people would not know what to reply if they hear people just say 你怎麼樣? from a new friend to them as a greeting.

I would like to use 你好 to greet Taiwanese people instead.


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## kenny4528

嗯，在合適的上下文，我想這些對我來說，不會太奇怪。


> A: 好久沒見啦，你最近怎麼樣? B:老樣子~
> A: 好久沒見啦，你怎麼樣? B:就這樣子啊，還能怎樣~


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## samanthalee

Frank06 said:


> So I can safely classify that phrase under the header 'only used in language courses'?
> Wow, okay! Thanks for the information!!!!



Nope, you can't safely classify that phrase under "textbook conversation". Sinosphere is rather large. What sound weird in one region could be colloquial in another.


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## palomnik

While this sounds a little strange to foreign speakers, something that has always struck me (native speakers, feel free to correct my impression!) is the fact that although Mandarin Chinese has "standard" phrases to use in set situations, it doesn't use them nearly as much as western languages do.

A common enough way to say "hello" so somebody you know is "XX來了" - "XX is here!" or maybe "XX回來了" - "XX is back!"  You may just declare what you see the person doing, or ask them if they've eaten yet.  Sometimes to a Westerner this sounds like a banal way to start a conversation, but to Chinese the western concern with correct social formulae sounds a little like an obsession.

Actually, just greeting an individual by simply saying his or her name is not unusual.


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## yuechu

I've noticed this is very common in Mainland (你怎么样?/你怎么樣?) I was wondering how people in Taiwan would say it though? I've said it to many Taiwanese friends and it doesn't seem to be a common greeting..

Is there a common equivalent you could say in most situations? I like the fact that "你怎么樣" is similar to "how are you"... (and I always want to ask my friends how they are doing out of habit (from English, I suppose!))

Thanks/謝謝！


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## natuzz

Ahahahah!
Chinese it's not difficult! Uhuhuhuh!
You must be joking....


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## yuechu

Culturally, it is quite different. Would you not have a suggestion then, natuzz, if you find it so easy? Even most native speakers I've talked to have trouble finding a suitable translation that is common.
(an equivalent to 你怎么样? that you can use with friends in 台湾.. something that is common)

Constructive comments are welcome. Thanks~


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## kenny4528

Hi, baosheng

I think we tend to say 你*最近*怎麼樣 to close friends. 你怎麼樣, by itself, is not used as equianlent to how are you, I think... but still possibly to be used in some circumstance:


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## patrick_socal

samanthalee said:


> Nope, you can't safely classify that phrase under "textbook conversation". Sinosphere is rather large. What sound weird in one region could be colloquial in another.



Is age group an issue as well?
I work with Chinese seniors, ages of 70 years and older.

They do say 你好 and 你好吗.
Also, on the phone they say "hi 你好“。


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## kenny4528

你好 and 你好吗 sound pretty good to me as greeting, and I say these a lot. (especially to people I meet first time)


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## natuzz

baosheng said:


> Culturally, it is quite different. Would you not have a suggestion then, natuzz, if you find it so easy? Even most native speakers I've talked to have trouble finding a suitable translation that is common.
> (an equivalent to 你怎么样? that you can use with friends in 台湾.. something that is common)


Actually it was ironic   
I am having A LOT of problems with learning Chinese... Exactly with spoken language...
And it was not a constructive comment at all. Sorry

By the way (and with this I am trying to remedy to my quite stupid previous post   )  is  吃饭了吗  really still used or it's just a colored expression they teach us at school?


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## Jamison

There are many ways to say so.
你好/你好吗？(first meet)
最近如何/怎么样？
近来如何/可好？
好久不见(啊)! _(origin of 'long time no see')_

or u may even use '吃了吗？' with u friend to express how are u in informal occasions.


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## samanthalee

natuzz said:


> is  吃饭了吗  really still used or it's just a colored expression they teach us at school?



It is still in use in Mandarin... but in my region, it's restricted to the older generations (40 and older). Most younger people in my region find this greeting (ie. asking whether someone's belly is full) a little awkward...this could be due to the influence of western etiquette, where asking after the financial situation of others is considered a terrible faux pas.



patrick_socal said:


> Is age group an issue as well?
> I work with Chinese seniors, ages of 70 years and older.
> 
> They do say 你好 and 你好吗.
> Also, on the phone they say "hi 你好“。



Perhaps.. I can't comment for your part of the world.  I say 你好,  你好吗, and 你最近好吗 all the time. And I'm still far away from 70.


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## Lupen The Third

Hello, I Know that this question might be repetitive, but...

I was reading this old thread when it appeared a bit chaotic to me.
Would please somebody clarify once and for all these following points :

你好吗?  Is standard Mandarin. It can be used when someone meets for the fisrt time a new person or in any situations.

你怎么样？/ 你的身体怎么样 are used when you are talking to your close friends or people you know well.
However, these expressions are not very common, or not used at all, in Taiwan. 
It's always better to use "你好吗?" in all the cases, it does not matter if I'm talking to my close friends or new people I am meeting for the fist time.

One more thing : Does "你怎么样？/ 你的身体怎么样" sound rude in Taiwan?

感激之至.


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## kenny4528

你怎么样？/ 你的身体怎么样 I think they don't sound rude to Taiwanese in conversation though they might not commonly used so much as a greeting term. I'd probably say to my close friends:


> 你*最近*怎麼樣(阿)?


 
你怎么样 sounds a little abrupt to my ear, with 最近 added, it sounds much caring, and as for the second one I think it can be used when you visit friend who might not have been well, probably taken care of in a hospital.


> 老黃，你(最近)的身体怎么样(啊)?


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## Lupen The Third

Thank you very much kenny4528!

Zai Jian!


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## Lupen The Third

Ni hao!

This time I'm here because I can see all the ways to say "How are you", but no one answer or reply to the this kind of question!

So, please, check this again :

Question : Ni hao ma?

Answer  : wo heng hao > 我 [?] 好 = I'm very fine ?

Thanks in advance!


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## xiaolijie

> wo heng hao > 我 [?] 好 = i'm very fine ?


我很好


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## Lupen The Third

It's ok!

万分感激

Edit : 很 > Can I read this as hen as well as heng??


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## Gervaise

No you can't, 很 = hěn​, no g.


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## xiaolijie

Yes, you can, due to the influence of the sound that follows it, such as h, g, k, etc. That is why in 我很好 you hear as "wo heng hao" (but it shouldn't be written this way!)
(This phenomenon is called "sound assimilation" in linguistics, but normally people don't notice the change.)


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## Gervaise

Well, uhm, I personally don't find "hen hao" more difficult to pronounce than "heng hao" but I guess it is only personal... And I didn't notice any assimilation in Mandarin (since each syllable ends with a vowel) while there are many in French, but I have not been paying much attention to this, I must admit.

Just as in English: 
-How are you? 
-Fine, thank you, and you?
In Chinese we don't just answer "我很好" but "我很好,你呢/你怎么样?"


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## Staarkali

I notice here many people ask 你在哪里 (ni zai nali) to open a phone conversation, even when it is of no importance for them or irrelevant with the context.


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## Geysere

That's interesting! You mean they answer the phone with "喂,你在哪里"? So what's the response? I've never heard of such expression, unless people really want to find out where I am...


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## AVim

xiaolijie said:


> Yes, you can, due to the influence of the sound that follows it, such as h, g, k, etc. That is why in 我很好 you hear as "wo heng hao" (but it shouldn't be written this way!)
> (This phenomenon is called "sound assimilation" in linguistics, but normally people don't notice the change.)



I couldn't hear 我很好 as "wo heng hao". I would consider it as a dialect accent. You know, speaking good standard Chinese is not easy.  

Some Chinese dialects (especially in the south and northwest) have difficulties in distinguishing the sounds between 'n' and 'ng', or between 'z c s' and 'zh ch sh'. So if, by chance, you have lived in those districts or met people from there, you probably heard that kind of pronounciation. (e.g. 'en' as 'eng', or even 'e' as 'eng')


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## xiaolijie

> Some Chinese dialects (especially in the south and northwest) have difficulties in distinguishing the sounds between 'n' and 'ng', or between 'z c s' and 'zh ch sh'. So if, by chance, you have lived in those districts or met people from there, you probably heard that kind of pronounciation. (e.g. 'en' as 'eng', or even 'e' as 'eng')


This is a complete different thing all together, AVim. Note also that in my post I did say _"normally people don't notice the change"._


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## Staarkali

Geysere said:


> That's interesting! You mean they answer the phone with "喂,你在哪里"? So what's the response? I've never heard of such expression, unless people really want to find out where I am...


No, not to answer the phone, but it goes also for 你吃饭了吗, usually it is when other people call, sometimes I notice they are not really asking that question for an answer.


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## kenny4528

Staarkali said:


> No, not to answer the phone, but it goes also for 你吃饭了吗, usually it is when other people call, sometimes I notice they are not really asking that question for an answer.


 
New to me~


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## BODYholic

Staarkali said:


> No, not to answer the phone, but it goes also for 你吃饭了吗, usually it is when other people call, sometimes I notice they are not really asking that question for an answer.



I do ask that question (你在哪里?) somewhat frequently at the beginning of a phone call or even on IM (via mobile phone). Contrary to what you have encountered, I do expect an relevant response from the other party. In case you are curious, I use the answer to gauge the length of my call or IM. If the person is outdoor, I'll keep the conversation short and to the point.


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## Staarkali

regarding to all the posts here, it seems that like I misevaluate the real purpose of that question, I shall consider actually answering that question in the future


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## jana.bo99

BODYholic said:


> I do ask that question (你在哪里?) somewhat frequently at the beginning of a phone call or even on IM (via mobile phone). Contrary to what you have encountered, I do expect an relevant response from the other party. In case you are curious, I use the answer to gauge the length of my call or IM. If the person is outdoor, I'll keep the conversation short and to the point.



Now I am just curious: how can you ask somebody by phone: how are you? - with 8 lines? You must say something or not?

Other thing: I see that you use lines (or squares) and words. That must be difficult. 
I am asking therefore because like very much Mandarin language and would like to study once, but it takes long time to learn all that. 

Thank you for explanation,
jana.bo


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## Lupen The Third

Thank you very much guys for all the answers!!
Very helpful and useful explanations,

ルパン三世


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## mabimabi

你怎么样？ 

But what does it mean word by word?

你 (you)
怎么 (how)
样 what does "yang" mean?


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## Jamison

你(you)
怎么样(how)


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## BODYholic

mabimabi said:


> 样 what does "yang" mean?



It means "look (noun)", literally, as in appearance, style, shape, form and the like. The meaning of "state (condition)" is implied.
Essentially, the question is asking if a person is happy, blessed, exhausted, melancholy or whatever.


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## kyotan

kastner said:


> A direct translation is 你好吗？ ni hao ma?
> But you will find Chinese native speakers never use it to greet people,
> generally, they will use 你怎么样？ ni zen me yang? or 你最近怎么样？ ni zui jin zen me yang?



大家好！

When I write emails to penpals, can I start the email with 你怎么样？ or 你最近怎么样？

谢谢。


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## SuperXW

They are both good. But you should know the tone is quite casual, like "what's up" in English.
你好吗？sounds a bit more formal.


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## Romildo

kyotan said:


> 大家好！When I write emails to penpals, can I start the email with 你怎么样？ or 你最近怎么样？谢谢。



These two phrases are not commonly used, especially the first one. 

The following maybe better:

某某某/亲爱的某某某/尊敬的某某某：
　　你(您）好！/近来可好？/最近好吗？/最近在忙什么？


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## yuechu

Hello!
I was wondering: 你最近如何？， 你近来如何？; Are these at all different than 你最近怎么样？ I was thinking of asking a Chinese friend how she was doing with this (the former) wording. Is it more formal than 你最近怎么样？
Thanks!

I also have a separate question I'd like to ask: Is 你好嗎？more common in (Hong Kong) Cantonese than in Mandarin? I think because of the English influence there, it is more normal, right?


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## SuperXW

yuechu said:


> Hello!
> I was wondering: 你最近如何？， 你近来如何？; Are these at all different than 你最近怎么样？ I was thinking of asking a Chinese friend how she was doing with this (the former) wording. Is it more formal than 你最近怎么样？
> Thanks!


I don't see any significant difference between the three, although 如何 is a little bit “classic” than "怎么样".
The three expressions are generally interchangeable.


yuechu said:


> Is 你好嗎？more common in (Hong Kong) Cantonese than in Mandarin? I think because of the English influence there, it is more normal, right?


The Cantonese equivalent expression of "how are you (recently)" should be 你（呢排）點嗎? I don't think 你好吗 is more common there.


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## Ghabi

yuechu said:


> Is 你好嗎？more common in (Hong Kong) Cantonese than in Mandarin?


There's no such phrase in Cantonese. The particle 嗎 maa1 is not used in real speech. People only say 嗎 when they read aloud from books, or when they sing, as the lyrics of Cantonese songs are in written Chinese.

There's the particle 嘛 maa3, but it's not an exact equivalent of Mandarin 嗎. You can say 你好嘛, but it sounds awkward, like you say it only to avoid silence, as when you bump into your ex and don't know what to say, what with all those insults exchanged between you when you broke up:

- 你...好嘛... "So ... you're doing okay?"
- 我...幾好呀...你呢 "I'm doing fine ... you?"
- 都...都係咁啦... "You know, same old same old ..."


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## yuechu

Thanks for your replies, SuperXW and Ghabi!
I've heard 你好嗎 being used in Cantonese before but that's good to know that it's not common!


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