6 Ways to Respond to “How are you?” in English

Let’s explore how to reply to the question “How are you?” in English.

Tagged With: American English Accent   YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video.

Video Text:

Hey, how are you? 

Not Much.  

That answer doesn’t actually make sense. ‘Not much’ is a great answer to the question, ‘what’s up?’ but not to ‘how are you?’ 

Today we’re going to go over 6 different ways to answer ‘how are you?’ A typical conversation starter and greeting in American English. We’ll go over a range of answers to reflect that life is going well for you, or terribly.  

I’m Rachel and I’ve been teaching the American accent and English listening skills to non-native speakers for over 15 years. Check out Rachelsenglish.com to learn more. 

The first thing you need to know about the question “How are you?” is that sometimes it’s just a greeting. It’s like saying hi, and the person is not actually wanting to know how you are doing.  

If you run into a friend on the street and they say, How are you? They want to know. They want you to answer. But if you’re starting a meeting at work for example, and someone says “how are you?” they probably don’t want to start a conversation about how you are unless the meeting is not happening for several minutes.  They are just using it as a greeting. And the answer you want to give in these situations is “Good, how are you?” They will then say “Good” or “fine” and the greeting is over. Then you move on to other things, for example: 

Hey Rachel, how are you?  

Good, how are you? 

Good. Did you get the updated agenda for the meeting? 

Yep, got it. I’m ready to go.  

So that is an example of ‘how are you?’ being used as a greeting. Let’s say you’re at work and someone says How are you? Like this: 

Hey Rachel, how are you? 

In this case, the person looks like they’re in a hurry, this is a greeting. This person does not want to actually have a conversation about how you are. But let’s say you’re at work, and it’s a more casual situation, like, you’re passing someone in the hallway that you spend quite a bit of time with, and that person doesn’t look like they’re rushing. Then it’s appropriate to assume it’s not just a greeting, they actually want to know how you are. For example: 

Hey Rachel, how are you? 

Great, it is such a relief to be heading into the weekend with the Johnson project done!  

Heading into is a phrasal verb that means going into something. For example, “I was heading into the kitchen when I saw a mouse run across the floor.” But we also use it for time, when we’re at the beginning of a chunk of time like heading into the weekend or  I could say “I’m heading into the summer with no vacation plans.”  

Yeah, totally. You put in so much overtime for that.  

I did. That was a tight deadline.  

A deadline is the date at which you have to have something done. A tight deadline is one where  you’re not sure if you have enough time to complete the task. Tight deadlines are stressful! 

Let’s recap. If it’s just a greeting and someone says “How are you?” Then just answer: Good, how are you? 

If it’s more of a conversation starter, then you can answer how you’re doing. The most neutral quick answers are ‘good’ and ‘fine’. But maybe you want to say more about how you’re doing. Things are going well for you. Then you can say ‘great’. And say a bit about why you’re doing so well. Let’s see that conversation again. 

Hey Rachel, how are you? 

Great, it is such a relief to be heading into the weekend with the Johnson project done! 

Yeah, totally. You put in so much overtime for that.  

I did. That was a tight deadline. 

So, how are you? Put your answer in the video comments right now.  

Let’s look at the range of answers you can give to ‘how are you?’: 

Great – things are going very well for you, you’re in a good mood. 

Good or Fine – neutral, you’re having a regular kind of day. You’ll probably follow this up with something positive, but you’re a little less enthusiastic about it than if you said ‘great’. Let’s look at a sample conversation where the answer is ‘good’ 

Oh hey! How are you? 

Good! We just got back from visiting my parents in Florida.  

Oh, Where in Florida? 

My parents are in Gainesville, which is where I grew up. So I still have a bunch of childhood friends there and it’s just great to see them and catch up.  

Catch up is a phrasal verb, it has lots of meanings. But here it means to find out what’s been going on in someone’s life since you’ve last seen them.  

Oh, that’s really nice. And Florida. Talk about a nice place to visit in February!  

No doubt! 

If you want to be more comfortable in English conversation, right now go to Rachelsenglish.com/free. There you can get my free course, The Top 3 ways to Master the American accent. It’s going to teach you how to hear English differently so your listening skills improve along with your understandability. RachelsEnglish.com/free and I will put that link in the video description.  

So we’ve got great. We’ve got ‘good’ or ‘fine’. Another neutral way to answer without giving much information is something like I’m doing alright. And remember, if you don’t feel like sharing anything you can always just ask the question back without saying anything more. For example: 

Hey! How are you? 

I’m doing okay, just gearing up for the holidays. How are you? 

How are you? The word r, it reduces. Think of it as just an er ending on the end of the word how. How are, how are, how are you?  

How are you? 

We’re good. Keeping busy – Brian is in soccer and John is the coach.  

Oh fun! Does he enjoy coaching? 

It’s a bunch of 7-year-olds, so sometimes I think he feels like he’s herding cats, but overall I think he’s enjoying it.  

Herding cats. This is not the same as hurting cats even though it’s pronounced the same. Herding cats. This is an idiom that means trying to organize or manage people or groups of people that are very difficult to organize or manage, like a bunch of 7-year-olds.  

Herding cats. Yes! That makes sense. 

What about when things aren’t going well? You could respond with “only okay”.  

Hey. How are you?  

Only okay. John has been traveling a lot for work a lot this month, and honestly I think we’re all just a little run down because of it.  

Run down is a phrasal verb that means low on energy, starting to feel exhausted, and maybe even getting a little bit sick.  

Sorry to hear that. You know what? I’m baking bread today. Why I don’t I bring it over with a pot of soup? That way you don’t need to worry about dinner.  

Oh, you don’t need to do that.  

It’s no extra work for me. I’m already making for dinner and I know I’ll have extra. Let me do this for you. I’ll stop by around 5.  

Wow, okay, thanks! That would be great! 

Or, even worse than ‘only okay’, we have ‘not very good.  

Hey, how are you? 

Hi. Honestly, not very good. Last week I was laid off.  

We use the word fired when someone is let go from their job for poor performance ori’ for doing something wrong. But we usually use ‘laid off’ when it wasn’t the person’s fault but the company was downsizing or something like that.  

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that.  

Yeah, it’s a huge bummer, my whole team was let go.  

Oh no.  

So. Not doing great today.  

That’s hard. I’m really sorry. 

Thanks. I’m just taking a few days just to lay low, and then I’ll start looking for work next week.  

Good luck. 

What if life is just terrible? You’re in a really bad mood, life seems really hard? 

Hey, how are you? 

I’m doing terribly. Our contractor is ghosting us and the kitchen is sitting there unfinished. 

If someone is ghosting you, this means they’ve stopped communicating with you. They’re not replying to any of your messages but they never told you that they were going to stop communicating with you. They’ve just ghosted you.  

Oh gosh. 

And, a client at work doesn’t like any of the creative that I’ve sent over, so I have to start over for that. It’s back to the drawing board after two weeks of working full-tilt.  

Back to the drawing board means she’s saving nothing from what’s she’s already done to work on this project, she has to start over from the beginning with totally new ideas. 

If you’re working full tilt on something, that means you’re putting in every bit of energy you have on that one thing. All of your focus is going to get that done because you’re working full tilt.  

I can’t believe they didn’t like it. I thought it was so fresh and new. Can you reuse any of the ideas?  

No. they want a completely different direction, so I am starting from scratch 

Just like back to the drawing board, starting from scratch means you’re not using any of your previous ideas or work, you’re completely starting over.  

I’m sorry.  

Thanks. I just really need a vacation. 

The question ‘how are you?” is actually asking for an adverb, because it’s short for ‘how are you doing?’. If you’re answering how you’re doing, you’re describing DOING, a verb, so that’s an adverb. How are you doing? Terribly. But you can change it to an adjective by describing yourself, a noun, by starting with I am or I’m,. I’m terrible. I’m doing terribly, or more simply, I’m terrible.  

Now, we’ve gone over great, good or fine, doing alright, only okay, not very good, and terribly.  

You can use any adjective or adverb to describe yourself: I’m doing well. I’m fantastic! I’m over the moon, my daughter just had a baby! Or, I’m struggling, I’m horrible. I’m bummed.  

Over time, as you notice the phrase ‘how are you?’ and the responses in conversation, movies, and TV, you’ll start to build your awareness:  Is this person actually starting a conversation about how I am, or is this just a greeting?   

Let’s review our 6 conversations, how to respond to How are you? 

Hey Rachel, how are you?  

Great.  

Hey, how are you? 

Only okay.  

Hey, how are you? 

I’m doing okay.  

Oh hey, how are you? 

Good!  

Hey, how are you? 

Honestly, not very good.  

Hey, how are you? 

I’m doing terribly.  

Hey Rachel, how are you? 

Great, it is such a relief to be heading into the weekend with the Johnson project done! 

Yeah, totally. You put in so much overtime for that.  

I did. That was a tight deadline. 

Hey. How are you?  

Only okay. John has been traveling a lot for work a lot this month, and honestly I think we’re all just a little run down because of it.  

Sorry to hear that. You know what? I’m baking bread today. Why I don’t I bring it over with a pot of soup? That way you don’t need to worry about dinner.  

Oh, you don’t need to do that.  

It’s no extra work for me. It’s what I’m already making for dinner and I know I’ll have extra. Let me do this for you. I’ll stop by around 5.  

Wow, okay, thanks! That would be great! 

Hey! How are you? 

I’m doing okay, just gearing up for the holidays. How are you? 

We’re good. Keeping busy – Brian is in soccer and John is the coach.  

Oh fun! Does he enjoy coaching? 

It’s a bunch of 7-year-olds, so sometimes I think he feels like he’s herding cats, but overall I think he’s enjoying it. 

Oh hey! How are you? 

Good! We just got back from visiting my parents in Florida.  

Oh, Where in Florida? 

My parents are in Gainesville, which is where I grew up. So I still have a bunch of childhood friends there and it’s just great to see them and catch up. 

Oh, that’s really nice. And Florida. Talk about a nice place to visit in February!  

No doubt! 

Hey, how are you? 

Hi. Honestly, not very good. Last week I was laid off.  

Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that.  

Yeah, it’s a huge bummer, my whole team was let go.  

Oh no.  

So, Not doing great today.  

That’s hard. I’m really sorry. 

Thanks. I’m just taking a few days just to lay low, and then I’ll start looking for work next week.  

Good luck. 

Hey, how are you? 

I’m doing terribly. Our contractor is ghosting us and the kitchen is sitting there unfinished. 

Oh gosh. 

And, a client at work doesn’t like any of the creative that I’ve sent over, so I have to start over for that. It’s back to the drawing board after two weeks of working full-tilt.  

I can’t believe they didn’t like it. I thought it was so fresh and new. Can you reuse any of the ideas?  

No. they want a completely different direction, so I am starting from scratch 

I’m sorry.  

Thanks. I just really need a vacation. 

I hope you’re now much more confident answering ‘how are you?” In English. Keep your learning going now with this video, and don’t forget to subscribe with notifications on. I love being your English teacher. That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.  

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