How to Respond to “How are you?”

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,  

TheTop 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  

or 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.