How are you?
Literally, are you well? A useful polite catch-up question.
FREE BEGINNER LESSON 2 · JAPANESE
Japanese: How are you?
Ask how someone is and return the question.
Polite · catching up. Learn the meaning, listen to the pronunciation, then practise in the interactive lesson.
Practise this lessonOpening vocabulary referenceUseful Japanese phrases and their meanings
I am well.
The person speaking is understood; no need to add 私 every time.
And you?
A polite way to return the question in this exchange.
I am well too.
も after 私 means I too.
How the sentence works
元気ですか asks whether someone is well. It is useful when catching up, but Japanese friends do not necessarily ask it at every meeting. 元気 is well or energetic; です adds polite style; か marks the question. The subject is often understood.
A short conversation in Japanese
Hello. How are you?
I am well. And you?
I am well too.
Words to recognise
well / energetic
I
also / too
you / your side
Listen to the whole phrase before focusing on each word. You can replay as often as you like, and the interactive lesson uses pictures and a short exchange to put the meaning in context.
Open the interactive lessonThe opening six teaching lessons are free, including the mini-tests after lessons three and six. A test accepts any answer and shows the score and corrections at the end. No typing or speaking aloud is required.
Keep learning Japanese
Free five-minute audio lesson and MP3 · Language learning games
The pronunciation uses prepared synthetic voices. Credits and licences explain the free voice models. Independent native-speaker certification is not claimed.