How to Answer "How are you"

 

- Hey, how are you?

 

You hear this phrase all the time and I'm sure you have a reflex to answer, I'm fine, thank you.

 

This was like your first English class at school, right? So what if I tell you that you are the one to change the phrase and reply attractively and concisely.

In America for example, if you're asked how are you? In the majority of cases, people don't care, which means that your answer should depend on whether people care or not. And, I'm fine, thank you is well, kind of old fashioned. So I will teach you how to reply to how are you in different situations and with different people.

 Also Read: How to ask How are you.

 

First, let's look at some quick phrases that you can use. You would use those phrases with acquaintances or strangers.

 

 

What does it mean? When you come to a grocery store and the cashier asks you, how are you?

 

This is a stranger and you don't want to tell them that everything is bad and you have to pay this college bill or whatever.

 

Or if somebody's sitting next to you in a bus or you're riding in an elevator, like, I ride in an elevator every day, I meet my neighbors and they always, how are you? It doesn't mean they're really interested in how am I, they just want to start a conversation. Those people are also strangers. Actually, in the United States, when people ask you, how are you? Sometimes it's equal to hello and it's not really a question.

 

So in these situations, it's better to give a short answer, because you don't want to be too daunting with explaining what's going on in your life.

 

The first short answer is, not bad, which, depending on your intonation, can be either positive or neutral. So if you say not bad, that means everything is okay, everything is going well.

 

You know, say, eh, not bad, which is neutral. Or, not bad, this is positive.

 

- The next phrase you can say, all right. Again here, it means you're fine and everything depends on your intonation.

 

All right is like okay, neutral.

 

Everything's all right!

 

Positive, you know, you're enjoying your life.

 

- I'm all right.

 

- The next thing you can say, good. I'm good.

 

And sometimes you think that saying I'm good is grammatically incorrect, because when we're talking about actions, we normally use adverbs instead of adjectives.

 

So for example, saying we danced good is wrong, we danced well is better. But because in this sentence, you're actually saying, I am good, or you can just say good, it makes it grammatically correct. So don't worry about it.

 

I'm good is a completely grammatically correct phrase and it means that you're happy, everything is going well in your life.

 

 

- This is the last answer that I'm giving you when you reply to strangers. So, let's repeat them. Not bad, all right, good. Very short, kind of informal and you don't waste other people's time, because you remember that how are you, is just a way of saying hello and being polite.

 

But, if you're talking to your friends, if you're talking to your family members, if you're talking to somebody who's really close, it's actually impolite to just tell them like, eh, I'm okay, whatever, I'm good.

 

You want to be more explicit. You want to go into details because these people actually care about you and they want to know what's going on in your life.

 

You can say, I'm exhausted.

 

You're really tired there are a lot of things going on at work and you really want to complain, then do it.

 

That's a perfect situation to complain because you're talking to your friends.

 

- I'm exhausted.

 

- If you tell your friend that you're okay, sometimes if he's really worried about you, he might ask you, just okay? And this will be an appropriate follow-up question because they might notice that something is not well, that something's going on, so they want more honesty from you.

 

- I'm okay.

 

- You can say, I'm frustrated.

 

My aunt in San Francisco, she just got a new job, and we met for dinner and

I was like, how are you? And she's like, I'm frustrated. There's this coworker who's so annoying, who is, he's actually below her, so she manages him, and he's trying to tell her what to do all the time. And she said, "I'm frustrated."

 

"I don't know how to deal with him."

 

I don't how to settle in this new working space  because this guy keeps telling me what to do "when, in the reality, I'm his manager."

 

Totally appropriate phrase to answer the question, how are you?

 

I'm frustrated.

 

- Yeah, I'm just frustrated.

 

- If a friend calls you and you know he would always call when he has free time and wants to talk, you can tell him, hey, I'm busy. You know, I'm recording a video for my Lingua Marina channel, going to call you back in uh, half an hour.

 

I'm busy.

 

- You see what we're talking about here, is giving people more details about how you're actually feeling and the next phrase is stressed out.

 

How are you?

 

I'm so stressed out right now. You know, I have exams coming in a week. I have to apply for a job. I have to apply for a visa, blah, blah, blah. So there's a lot going on in your life and you're under this pressure.

 

- I'm so stressed out.

 

- By the way, the task for you after this video, is to tell me how you are. And I'm asking you how are you?

 

And if you already have a phrase in mind, write it down in the comments below and tell me what's going on in your life.

 

Let's make it more informal. Let's make it in a way that friends and relatives do. Tell me how you're feeling.

 

What's going on in your life?

 

Using one of those phrases that you're learning right now.

 

Another very common phrase, I've been better.

 

Normally it's followed up by, actually complaining about something or explaining what's going on in your life and why right now is not the best time, why you're not enjoying your life right now.

 

And if you say I've been better,

 

I will probably ask, what's going on?

 

Why?

 

- I've been better.

 

- If everything's great, if you don't want to go into too many details, you can just say, I'm great, everything is great.

 

How are you?

 

- I'm great.

 

- And the last, but not the least, if something is coming up in your life, you're having a baby, you're heading out to a concert, you are getting a new job, you can say, I'm excited.

 

- I'm excited.

 

- And don't forget that when people ask you, especially your friends when they ask you how you are, and when you tell them what's going on in your life, it's very important that you also ask them back, what's going on in their lives. Because this is the way you start a conversation.

 

This is the way you're being polite and maintaining relationship with people who matter to you.

 

So it’s how can you reply to the answer how are you.