“Exactly how are you?” is among the very first expressions you should discover when examining any kind of language. Equally as with various other languages (English consisted of), there are a lot more ways to ask how someone is doing than just the typical variation you see in books.
How to say “How are you?” in Mandarin Chinese
#1. 你好吗? – Nǐ hǎo ma?
Asking 你好吗? (Nǐ hǎo ma?) is the most common way that people usually say “how are you” in Mandarin when they first begin to learn Chinese
#2. 你怎么样？– Nǐ zěnme yàng？
The inquiry 你怎么样? (Nǐ zěnme yàng?) is probably one of the most all-natural and typical ways Chinese people will ask “Just how are you?”, and it lugs a very informal tone.
In English, a similar expression might be “What’s up?” or “How are you doing? that you can utilize in between pals, schoolmates, relative, or perhaps colleagues.
#3. 一切顺利吗? – Yīqiè shùnlì ma？
You can use 一切顺利吗? (Yīqiè shùnlì ma?) when a friend had an interview, a sibling took a big test at school, or an officemate came back from a crucial meeting at work.
Ask this question in situations where you expect a genuine response from people rather than a simple pleasantry in return.
一切 (Yī qiè) in Chinese means everything and 顺利 (Shùn lì) means smoothly and so the English meaning of 一切顺利吗 (Yī qiè shùn lì ma?) is “Did everything go smoothly?”.
#4.最近忙些什么 – Zuìjìn máng xiē shénme？
Life moves fast, and also everybody’s got somewhere to go and somebody to satisfy! Asking the inquiry 你最近忙什么呢? (Nǐ zuì jìn máng xiē shén me?) is an ideal means to learn what a person is hectic with. It is an excellent inquiry to use if you haven’t seen somebody in a very long time as a result of a hectic routine.
#5.身体好吗？– Shēntǐ hǎo ma？
The characters 身体 (shēn tǐ) in the Mandarin Chinese language indicate “body,” and 身体好吗? inquiry is suitable for inquiring about your health or the problem of your body.
The right time to use this phrase is when you meet someone much older than you, and you want to check to make sure that they are still in good health.
Another reason that someone might use 身体好吗? (Shēn tǐ hǎo ma?) would be if you are checking up on a friend or family member that you rarely see while talking over the phone.
Culturally in China, it is very important to express concern for someone’s health, especially if you don’t see them often.
#6. 老师好? – Lǎoshī hǎo
老师 (Lǎoshī) is the Chinese word for teacher and so the proper greeting when you meet your Mandarin instructor is none other than “Lǎoshī hǎo?” (老师好?).
Just like you can use 老师 (Lǎoshī) to address your teacher, you can add any subject or type of person you like to make a more personal greeting.
An example of this would be: 大卫好 (Dà wèi hǎo?) meaning “How are you, David?” It shows people a sign of respect and that you understand their social position.
#7. 大家好 – Dàjiā hǎo?
While Lǎoshī hǎo? (老师好?) is made use of by pupils when welcoming a teacher, an educator will often utilize the expression 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo) to attend to the course before the lesson.
#8.最近去哪儿呢？– Zuì jìn qù nǎr ne?
It may sound a bit nosey and personal to some, but asking someone 最近去哪儿呢? (Zuì jìn qù nǎr ne?) or “Where have you been recently?” can be used as a greeting in Mandarin. However, one of the common mistakes that many non-native Chinese speakers make when replying to this question is giving a too detailed response.
#9.什么事？– Shénme shì？
Envision that you run into someone you understand, and they look unusually unwell or exhausted. 什么事? (Shén me shì?) can be used to ask “What’s the matter” when it appears like a person is not having their best day.
Although this might sound like an endearing way to ask “How are you?” in Chinese, unlike 身体好吗? (Shēn tǐ hǎo ma?), this tone is much cruder and, if said in an inappropriate context, can even instigate a fight.
#10. 你最近过得好吗 – Nǐ zuìjìn guòde hǎo ma?
#11.你不舒服吗？– Nǐ bù shūfu ma？
#12. 还好吗？– Hái hǎo ba？
#13. 怎么了? – Zěnme le?
#14. 你吃了吗？– Nǐ chīle ma?
Dialogue
Note: “How are you” greetings in Chinese.
A: 你 好 吗 ？
nǐ hǎo ma ?
How are you?
B: 我 很 好 ， 你 呢 ?
wǒ hěn hǎo , nǐ ne ?
I’m (very) fine, what about you?
A: 我 也 很 好 。
wǒ yě hěn hǎo .
I’m fine, too.
A: 安娜 ， 你 好 吗 ？
Ānnà , nǐ hǎo ma ?
Anna, how are you?
B: 我 很 好 ， 你 呢 ？
Wǒ hěn hǎo , nǐ ne ?
I am fine, what about you?
A: 我 也 很 好 。
Wǒ yě hěn hǎo nǐ.
I am also very good.
A: 小玉 ， 你 好 吗 ？
Xiǎoyù , nǐ hǎo ma ?
Xiaoyu, how are you?
B: 我 很 好 ， 你 呢 ？
Wǒ hěn hǎo , nǐ ne ?
I am fine, what about you?
A: 我 也 很 好 。
Wǒ yě hěn hǎo nǐ.
I am also very good.
Vocabulary
吗 ma particle, used at the end of the “Yes-No question”
呢 ne particle, “Topic + 呢 ” means what about this Topic
很 hěn adv. very
也 yě adv. also
Expansion
Other ways to answer “How are you doing?”
我 还 好 。
Wǒ hái hǎo .
I’m okay.
我 还 不 错 。
Wǒ hái bú cuò .
I’m pretty good.
我 不 太 好 。
Wǒ bú tài hǎo .
I am not so good.
我 最 近 很 忙 。
Wǒ zuì jìn hěn máng .
I’m very busy recently.
Grammar
Yes-No question ending with 吗 (ma)
A “Yes-No question” is the question which can be answered with either yes or no in English. We also have this type of question in Chinese and to change a statement to a Yes-No question, we only need to place a question particle 吗 at the end of the sentence.
Sample Sentences:
你 好 吗 ？
nǐ hǎo ma ?
How are you?
Daphne 好 吗 ？
Daphne hǎo ma ?
Is Daphne doing well?
Jeremy 好 吗 ？
Jeremy hǎo ma ?
Is Jeremy doing well?
Topic + 呢(ne)?= What about this Topic?
A Topic can be a person, an object, a time, a place or a sentence etc.You can either use this structure to return the same question asked by another person such as “I’m very well, and you?” “Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?” or simply ask “what about XXX” like we use in English.”
Sample Sentences:
我 很 好 , 你 呢 ？
wǒ hěn hǎo , nǐ ne ?
I’m (very) fine, what about you?
Daphne 呢 ？
Daphne ne ?
How about Daphne? (Where is Daphne?)
香 港 呢 ？
xiāng gǎng ne ?
What about (going to) Hong Kong?
明 天 呢 ？
míng tiān ne ?
What about tomorrow?
那 个 饭 店 呢 ？
nà ge fàn diàn ne ?
What about that restaurant?
也(yě) = also + adj./verb
In English, we have also, too and either, all three words mean the same but used differently. Forget about the English words, because in Chinese, we only have one word to express “also”, which is “yě 也” and the only way to use it is to put it before the verb and adj.”
Sample Sentences:
我 也 很 好 。
wǒ yě hěn hǎo .
I’m also (very) fine.
Daphne 也 很 漂 亮 。
Daphne yě hěn piào liang .
Daphne is also very beautiful.
我 也 去 。
wǒ yě qù .
I also go (there).
我 也 喜 欢 。
wǒ yě xǐ huan .
I also like (it).
