Hello! Greetings!

In this post you will learn:

5 common ways to greet people in English and natural responses
Greetings that begin with How
Greetings that begin with What
The difference between How and What in greetings
How to tell the difference between a greeting and a real question
Cultural considerations

How do you greet someone in your language? Like English, there are probably many ways, including a simple Hello.

Arabic: مرحبا
Chinese: 你好 (Nǐ hǎo)
German: Hallo
Hindi: नमस्ते
Japanese: こんにちは (Kon’nichiwa}
Korean: 안녕하세요 (and many more)
Indonesian: Halo (and many more)
Latvian: Sveiki
Filipino: Kamusta
Polish: dzień dobry
Russian: Здравствуйте
Spanish: Hola
Thai: สวัสดี
Ukrainian: Привіт (Pryvit)
Vietnamese: xin chào

Living in Korea, I’ve noticed differences between English greetings and Korean greetings. Our culture plays a role in the way we greet each other.

While 안녕하세요 is a standard greeting I can use and respond to in Korea, there are others that don’t translate well due to cultural differences. I was really surprised when Koreans greeted me in these other ways. I’ll explain more about that later.

I was also really surprised that my students did not know how to respond naturally to five of the most common greetings that we use in English. Are you ready to learn them?

5 Common Ways to Greet People in English

Everyone knows how to greet someone with a simple Hello. However, there are more ways to greet someone, and we use them a lot.

Greetings and Natural Responses

What’s up? Not much, you?

What’s new? Nothing, you?

What’s going on? Nothing much, how ’bout you?

How’s it going? Not bad, you?

How are you? Pretty good, you?

Those are the basics. Keep reading to learn more.

Greetings that Begin with How

A: ~~How are you today?~~

B: ~~I’m fine, thank you, and you?~~

This greeting is so common in Korea that it has become cliché (overused and unoriginal). I’m fine, thank you, and you? is very formal. It is not common between people who know each other.

We use more informal greetings with friends and acquaintances.

acquaintance: someone you have met but do not know well

Using these greetings is very easy once you know how to do it. Practice, and you will be able to do it.

A: Hey, how are you? / Hey, how’s it going? – (*Hey is optional but very common.)

B: Great, you? / Pretty good, and you? / Good, you? / Not bad, how are you?

As you can see, there are many possible ways to respond, including Fine.

Now, let’s look at What greetings.

Greetings that Begin with What

These greetings are different from greetings that begin with How and cannot be answered in the same way. Let’s take a look.

A: What’s up? / What’s new? / What’s going on?

B: Not much, how ’bout you? / Nothing, you? / Nothing much, you?

What’s the difference between How and What?

If a greeting begins with How, we answer with one of these adjectives: good, great, pretty good, not bad, and yes, fine.

Why? These are shortened forms of a longer sentence: I am + adjective. Example: I am good.

It’s really common to shorten things in spoken English. First, we shorten I am good to I’m good. Then we shorten it even more to good.

Be careful! If a question is only a greeting, we do not usually give real answers like terrible and tired. It is the same with the Korean greeting, Have you eaten? You don’t give a long answer with details about what you ate.

We’ll talk about real questions soon, but if it is only a greeting, and not a conversation starter, keep it light and simple like these grandmas.

If a greeting begins with What, answer with one of these: Not much, Nothing, or Nothing much.

Why? These are shortened forms of longer sentences. __________ is _______. Example: Not much is going on.

If there is time, remember to be polite and return the greeting by asking about the other person with the addition of you at the end. Example: Nothing, you?

Now, let’s move on to real questions. Any of the above greetings can be a real question.

How do you know the difference between a greeting and a real question?

Greetings vs. Real Questions

3 ways to tell the difference:

tone
speed
body language and situation

Real Questions

The tone of a real question is lower than the tone of a greeting.
The speed of a real question is slower than the speed of a greeting.
When someone asks a real question, their body language is open and focused on you.
The situation is one where both people have some time to have a conversation.

When someone asks How are you? as a real question, you can give a real answer. Unlike in a greeting, if you are having a terrible day, you can say, Terrible. Here is how the conversation might flow when How are you? is asked as a real question:

A: How are you?
B: Terrible.
A: Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that. What’s wrong?
B: I have a lot to do, and I’m not feeling well. I’m just totally overwhelmed with life right now.
A: That’s tough. I hope you feel better soon. Is there anything I can do to help?
B: No, thanks for asking though. I just need to get some rest and stop procrastinating.
A: Okay, well, good luck.

procrastinate: delay or postpone an action; put off doing something until later

Greetings

The tone of a greeting is higher than the tone of a real question.
The speed of a greeting is faster than the speed of a real question.
When only greeting, people are often moving.
Depending on the situation, people may be stopped, but have closed or tense body language. For example, they may be texting, talking with someone else, or busy with some other task.
The situation is one where people are either on their way somewhere or are busy with something.

Cultural Considerations

When a Korean I don’t know well (or a total stranger) asks, “Where are you going?”, I feel a little uncomfortable because this is not a question we ask people outside our social circle when speaking English.

Because it is not a greeting in English, it is too personal to ask a stranger this question in English. In English, it only exists as a real question. While it is okay to ask this to people you know, it’s not a good idea to ask this to people you don’t know or are not close to or friendly with. They may think it is a real question and feel uncomfortable or confused about why you are asking.

In many parts of the United States, it is polite to acknowledge other people, including strangers, by saying hello and making small talk. It is rude to ignore strangers in certain situations, including if you step into their personal space, which is normally about an arm’s length in all directions. However, in big cities, like Seoul and New York, where space is limited and people are busy, it would be strange to suddenly say hello to people on the street. The gray area, culturally, involves familiar shared spaces, like elevators or cafeterias. There are many factors, such as body language and how busy someone is, that would determine whether or not it would be appropriate to greet someone.

gray area: unclear, not clearly defined, a situation in which what is right and what is wrong is unclear

Levels of Formality

Americans and other native English speakers are more casual compared to Koreans. We don’t think about age when speaking to people, and we often greet other people in a casual way. Of course, we do have levels of formality, but they are not as strict as in Korea. While I would say, How’s it going? to my friends, co-workers, and most of my family, I would not say it to my grandparents or my doctor. Instead, I would say, How are you? Like in Korean, how you greet someone depends on the relationship you have with them.

Trey: Have you eaten? is not a greeting in English.
Jae: What?! Are you serious? It is a polite and caring greeting in Korean.

When I first came to Korea, I was confused when Koreans would ask me if I had eaten. I thought they wanted to go to lunch with me or really wanted to know what I ate. Were they curious about my lunch? I didn’t know how to answer. What if I had not eaten? Was that bad? Of course, because we were not friends, this seemed very strange and unusual.

From Hello to Goodbye

Related post: 10 ways to say Goodbye in English

Catch ya later!

Catch ya on the flip side!

Interested in knowing what “Catch you on the flip side!” means and where it came from?

Check out “A Way with Words,” a public radio conversation all about it! You’ll hear a natural conversation between the hosts and a caller. “A Way with Words” is full of podcasts about the English language, including lots of expressions you may have never heard. I especially recommended it for more advanced learners.

Ready for another lesson on greetings by my wonderful affiliate Shayna? Check out her post Practical English: Greetings And Goodbyes over at Espresso English.

Never stop learning!