"how are you" chinese

[artdndz]

Hello.

Can you explaine, what is different from:

你最近好吗 nǐ zuìjìn hǎo ma?

and

你怎么样 Nǐ zěnme yàng?

Which form is more polite and usefull?

[renzhe]

The most neutral form is 你好吗

你最近好吗 = how have you been recently. Can be used if you haven't seen somebody in a while.

你怎么样 = how are you right now. If a brick hits you and you start passing out, that's what they would ask you.

The politeness of the latter one can be very context-dependent. It's very direct.

[ssilve01]

"Ni zenmeyang" is the more common, casual opener. It's the "what's up?" of Chinese language.

"Ni zuijin hao ma?" is for when you haven't seen someone in a while. Its to catch up with them on their recent events.

[tooironic]

Hmm. If a brick hit you I'd probably ask 你没事吧？("Are you OK?").

Also, I wouldn't use 你好吗 if I were you. It has a very textbooky flavour, much like "How do you do?" in English. Chinese people don't use that often, although you tend to hear 你最近还好吗？ from time to time.

你怎么样？ is probably the most common expression. 你干嘛？(pronounced "nǐ gànmá") is also very common, albeit very informal. It translates as "What are you doing?" (Or more like "What's up?"/"What are you up to?")

Forget about being polite in Chinese. In modern Chinese society, politeness and polite expressions are not used to the extent they are in the West. That's probably why most Chinese struggle at first to understand why English speakers walk around asking strangers how they are. In many cases they have no idea how to respond in such a situation.

That's not to say politeness doesn't exist in Chinese culture. I think it's more the fact that politeness in Mandarin is expressed in not how you say things but what you actually say. For example, Chinese people tend to believe that asking obvious questions about the interlocutor - ones that would seem a bit weird, impolite or even intrusive to English speakers - shows their concern for them (which in turn expresses a kind of politeness on their part I suppose).

Perhaps a native speaker here can elaborate on this...?

[renzhe]

Hmm. If a brick hit you I'd probably ask 你没事吧？("Are you OK?").

If it was a big brick, yeah!

[Kenny同志]

The most neutral form is 你好吗

I am afraid people rarely use it. The fact is that most people will be at a loss upon hearing it and don't know how to respond. I guess it comes from the English "How are you?".

你干嘛？(pronounced "nǐ gànmá") is also very common

For those who're not aware, 嘛 is wrong and the correct character is 嗎(ma2). 嘛 is commonly misused where 嗎 should be.

[Guest realmayo]

Is ni zuijin zenmeyang pretty much exactly the same to your ears as ni zenmeyang or is it less common or different-sounding?

[Kenny同志]

Comrade Mayo, I am not good at reading pinyin. So next time, please use characters.

Now answer your question.

你最近怎麼樣 means how have you been recently. As for 你怎麼樣, it means How are you but it is used differently, i.e. not as a greeting. For example, if you hit your head on the wall, I would probably use 你怎麼樣？沒事吧？if I hadn't seen you in quite a while and bumped into you one day on campus, I might begin, 嗨,，麻油同志，好久沒見你了。你怎麼樣？

Edit:

你最近怎麼樣？= How have you been recently?

你怎麼樣？= How are you?

One thing to remember is that in English we can greet one with "How are you?" but in Chinese starting with "你怎麼樣?" is odd and abrupt. More so to a stranger.

[Guest realmayo]

Thanks Kenny.

So: if you saw me the next day too, obviously 好久沒見 won't work here. And assuming I haven't hit my head on the wall, you won't be deploying any of that 怎麼樣 chat either.

Presumably then you'll ask me where I'm going, if I've eaten, or comment on the fact that I'm out and about early in the morning.

And is that basically it, then? So the answer to the OP's question "How are you in Chinese?" is that you don't normally ask it?

[Kenny同志]

So: if you saw me the next day too, obviously 好久沒見 won't work here. And assuming I haven't hit my head on the wall, you won't be deploying any of that 怎麼樣 chat either.

Presumably then you'll ask me where I'm going, if I've eaten, or comment on the fact that I'm out and about early in the morning.

And is that basically it, then? So the answer to the OP's question "How are you in Chinese?" is that you don't normally ask it?

Yeah, completely correct. 你怎麼樣? is not used as often in Chinese as How are you? in English. And they are used differently.

[Guest realmayo]

多谢 boss.

in Chinese we can't begin with "你怎麼樣?"; it sounds odd and abrupt.

I hadn't realised this. I have a feeling it or similar is much-used by 老外 who have learned to avoid 你好吗 but still feel uncomfortable forcing themselves to ask 你去哪里？

[Kenny同志]

So in sum, 你怎麼樣? is more an enquiry; How are you? is more a greeting.

I have a feeling it or similar is much-used by 老外 who have learned to avoid 你好吗 but still feel uncomfortable forcing themselves to ask 你去哪里？

When you're not sure what you should use, a 嗨 will do most of the time. It saves a lot of trouble and I use it all the time.

[WestTexas]

When you're not sure what you should use, a 嗨 will do most of the time. It saves a lot of trouble and I use it all the time.

Yeah, I totally do this. Or English "Hello", then continue conversation in Chinese.

I think Kenny hit the nail on the head when he said that 你怎么样？ is not really a greeting. I was thinking of how to explain it but couldn't quite nail it down. You'd ask 你怎么样 when sth happens to someone, not as a conversation starter.

Another similar-sounding phrase that every Chinese learner should know is 你怎么了？ meaning "What's wrong?". Or, another example, 他们怎么了？ meaning sth closer to "What's up with them?"

[tooironic]

Another one I just thought of is 你挺好的吧？ You'll hear it from time to time.

Kenny, I don't believe 你干嘛 is incorrect but merely a variant of 你干吗？ Indeed, many Chinese input programs prefer the former than the latter.

Could you explain why you think it's wrong? I'm curious.

[Kenny同志]

@tooironic

You can refer to the sixth edition of 現代漢語詞典 for the 嗎 entry on page 860 and the 嘛 entry on page 865.

Input programs are not reliable. In fact, they are one major source of typos and misused characters.

[OneEye]

And the 國語辭典 lists 幹嘛 under 嘛. "Correct" is a tricky concept.

[Kenny同志]

The entry has a mistake - 嘛(should be 嗎) isn't a 助詞; it's a 疑問代詞.

[OneEye]

Interesting then that they have "表疑問語氣" for 嗎, and no "幹嘛". I think they just disagree with you, I don't think it's a mistake.

[Kenny同志]

I meant that even if 嘛(ma2) had been correct, it should have been a 疑問代詞, not a 語氣助詞. 幹嗎？=幹什麼？

[lingo-ling]

你吃飽了沒? "Have you eaten yet?"

你幹嘛? is quite abrupt and forceful, like "What on earth are you doing?" (though circumstance, familiarity and tone of voice can change the effect somewhat.)