Saying 'How are you?' in German Just like elsewhere, conver | Learn German with Leo🦁

Saying "How are you?" in German

Just like elsewhere, conversations often start with "how are you?". In German, that's "Wie geht’s?". But this phrase can seem cliche.

For a bit of variety, you can use these more casual questions:

Wie läuft es? Wie läuft's? - How's it going?
Was geht ab? - What's happening?

And if someone asks you, there are numerous possible responses

Danke! Mir geht es gut! - Thanks! I'm doing well!
Sehr gut! - Very well!
Ausgezeichnet! - Excellent!
Gut! - Good!
Wie immer. - As always.
Unverändert. - Unchanged.
Ziemlich gut! - Pretty good!
Ganz gut! Ganz ok! - Quite good!
Nicht schlecht. - Not bad.
Es geht. - It's okay.
So lala. - So-so.
Nicht besonders. - Not great.
Nicht so gut! - Not so good!
Schlecht. - Bad.

You can also get creative and use idioms :

Alles ist in Butter! - literally "everything is in butter", i.e. everything is fine, everything is great.
Nicht so, ich bin in der Klemme. - Not so good, I'm in a tight spot.
Ich kenne weder Rast noch Ruh. - I know neither rest nor peace (Eng. I'm always on the go)

In response, don't forget to ask:
Und wie geht es dir? - And how are you?
Und dir? - And you?
Und selbst? - And yourself?

Es geht mir ziemlich gut, obwohl ich heute viel zu tun habe. Und wie geht es dir?
I'm quite good, even though I have a lot to do today. How about you?

Don't forget to keep your conversation natural and engaging by adding variety to your phrases. It not only makes you sound more fluent, but it's also more fun!