Talk:how are you

I think we should include the "?" in the title like we do with other question phrases. &mdash; Hippietrail 11:59, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I agree. Polyglot 14:40, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

An informal greeting, not requiring a literal response
Could somebody elabarate on this? Thanks!


 * It means that how are you is usually not actually asking about your health, but it is simply a formal hello. When someone says how are you, you can just answer with hi or hello, or you may answer "Fine, thanks" (even if you are not well), and you usually should not mention ill health or other woes. —Stephen 16:39, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Kurdish
A friend of mine said that how are you in Kurdish is pronounced: cho(r)ny bashi, I don't know for sure if the "r" is pronounced. Does anyone recognize this dialect? Mallerd 19:45, 6 July 2008 (UTC)


 * That would be چۆنی باشی, çonî başî, a longer form of چۆنی. —Stephen 16:57, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, is there a language you don't know ;) Mallerd 18:08, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Hmong
The various Hmong translations should be checked. - -sche (discuss) 22:19, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Stresses
ˌHow ˈare you? (greeting) vs (ˈFine.) ˌHow are ˈyou? (reply) --Backinstadiums (talk) 19:18, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Only used as greeting? Translations checked if they are greetings?
Is that phrasing only used as a greeting? How do English native speakers actually ask about someone's well-being? Were the translations checked if they are used as simple greetings? Many of them just seem to be literal translations. Universal-Interessierter (talk) 21:55, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

For Phrase Book it serves mainly as a general greeting. -- A health question would use the phrase in a sentence. "So tell me, how are you now?" for instance. Replies would then be "Much better, thank you." -- "So, so" -- "I seem to be getting worse rather than better." etc. -- A LGRIF  talk 09:18, 20 June 2024 (UTC)