How Are You Today?
Friday April 4, 2008
How do you answer if someone asks you, "¿Cómo estás?" or "How are you?"? The standard answer is probably "Bien" ("Fine") or "Muy bien" ("Very good"). Of course, both of those responses are often expanded: "Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?" ("Quite well, thank you. And you?").
But if you want to spice up your life the tiniest bit, there are other answers you can give, and our readers have suggested theirs in this recently revived forum discussion. Here are a few of them that would be understood everywhere:
- Bastante bien. Good enough.
- ¡Buenísimo! Great!
- Mal. Bad.
- Malísimo. Terrible.
- Igual que siempre. Same as always.
- Regular. Same as usual.
- Así, así. So-so.
Of course, "¿Cómo estas?" is just one way you can greet people. Most of the common ones are listed in our lesson on greetings. And if you're meeting someone for the first time, our lesson on introducing yourself can also come in handy.
If you're heard other greetings during your travels, feel free to share them in our forum or by clicking the Comments link below.
Comments
Mejor que nunca! = Better than ever!
i think u need to put more things on here about traditions ok thankyou buh bye
In Mexico we do not say Buenisimo or Malisimo when someone asks us How are you? Buenisimo we use it mostly to talk about food or a movie, to describe the quality of something. La comida esta buenisima. Malisimo we use it in the same context but also when we talk about how bad or sick someone is. Estoy malisimo. (I am very sick.)
I always say “mejor que bien” (jeje)
Ya vivo
We never say “malísimo” ni “buenísimo”…It’s the first time I hear that…