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Gerald Erichsen

How Are You Today?

By , About.com Guide   July 11, 2010

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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 our forum for Spanish students. 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.
And, of course, there are phrases you may hear in certain areas. One of my favorites: Feliz como un lombriz, which literally means "happy as an earthworm" but is the rough equivalent of the colloquial English saying "happy as a clam." (Are earthworms and clams capable of being happy? I'm not sure.)

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

April 4, 2008 at 12:17 pm
(1) Chris :

Mejor que nunca! = Better than ever!

April 5, 2008 at 12:45 am
(2) sydnie aka shorty :

i think u need to put more things on here about traditions ok thankyou buh bye

April 5, 2008 at 3:56 pm
(3) Tamara :

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.)

April 8, 2008 at 2:12 am
(4) Marquitos :

I always say “mejor que bien” (jeje)

April 10, 2008 at 2:03 pm
(5) Garry :

Ya vivo

April 29, 2008 at 10:59 am
(6) María :

We never say “malísimo” ni “buenísimo”…It’s the first time I hear that…

July 12, 2010 at 3:05 am
(7) Manel :

No sé si una lombriz pueden ser feliz, lo que sí sé es que es “Una Lombriz” y no “un lombriz” :-(

Por cierto, me encanta la respuesta “Mejor que bien!”

February 12, 2011 at 5:28 pm
(8) Tyauna :

Hola. Como Estas? Im Bien..Y tu?

March 24, 2011 at 5:35 am
(9) Abdirisaaq :

waan fiicanahey ayaanu kku jawaabnaa hadaaanu nahey soomaali ( iam fine or iam very good if we are somlian people we just answer like this )

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