How are you?
Formal 'How are you?'. Use with people you don't know, older people, or in professional settings. 'Usted' is the formal 'you'.
Casual 'What's up?' or 'How's it going?'. Very common and versatile, can be used as a greeting by itself.
Informal 'How are you doing?'. Similar to asking about someone's progress or general state.
Casual 'How are you getting on?'. Literally 'How are you walking?', it's a friendly, informal check-in.
Hi, Ana. How are you? - Very well, thanks. And you?
Good morning, Miss Ramos. How are you?
Hey, dude! What's up? I hadn't seen you in a while.
Friend, how are you getting on? Is everything okay at the new job?
The distinction between the informal '¿Cómo estás?' (for 'tú') and the formal '¿Cómo está usted?' (for 'usted') is crucial. When in doubt, using 'usted' is safer and more respectful.
In addition to the standard phrases, you'll often hear the very informal slang '¿Qué onda?' (keh OHN-dah) for 'What's up?'.
'¿Qué más?' (keh MAHS) is an extremely common greeting, used like 'How's it going?'. The slang '¿Quiubo?' (KYOO-boh), a contraction of '¿Qué hubo?', is also widespread.
Due to the use of 'vos' instead of 'tú', the standard phrase becomes '¿Cómo andás?', with the stress on the final syllable (ahn-DAHS).
In Chile, the most common informal way to ask is '¿Cómo estai?' (koh-moh ess-TYE), reflecting the unique Chilean verb conjugation for 'tú'.
While '¿Cómo estás?' is used, '¿Qué tal?' is arguably more common as a standard greeting. For informal plural ('you all'), they use '¿Cómo estáis?'.
Using 'ser' instead of 'estar' — Saying '¿Cómo eres?' asks 'What are you like?' (describing personality), not 'How are you?' (asking about a temporary feeling). Always use 'estar' for this greeting: '¿Cómo estás?'.
Mixing formal and informal verb forms — Saying '¿Cómo estás usted?' is incorrect because 'estás' is the verb for 'tú' (informal). The correct pairs are '¿Cómo estás?' (informal) and '¿Cómo está usted?' (formal).
Forgetting the accent mark — Writing 'Como estas' is a common error. The question word 'how' is 'cómo', with an accent. Without it, 'como' means 'like' or 'I eat'.
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how to say nice to meet you in spanish
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