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re: The American custom of asking ‘How are you?’

Posted on 5/9/19 at 9:57 pm to
Posted by OMLandshark
Member since Apr 2009
109168 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 9:57 pm to
quote:

When I was stationed in Germany we had to take a class about the basics of German culture. Our instructor (a German lady) cautioned us not to ask because people would actually tell you how they were feeling. Never tested it out though so IDK for sure.


Germans are a weird culture. Thinking it through, I never really asked a German this (I probably did but no memory of their response), but man are they a fun bunch to get drunk with. Outside of Americans, most of my friends in China were Germans. They like a dark sense of humor and sarcasm at large. If you asked how they were, chances are they’d smart off.

Russians would just think you’ve gone insane looking at the world as anything but bleak. I had friends from all over Europe and Asia, but I never got along with a Russian. Just a cold bunch of humorless assholes.
This post was edited on 5/9/19 at 10:01 pm
Posted by Martini
Near Athens
Member since Mar 2005
48863 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 9:58 pm to
quote:

Reminds me of a joke:

Two finns walk in to bar and order beers. After getting their drinks, one of the finns turns to the other and says "So how's your family?" The other finn looks at him and says "Are you here to drink, or are you here to talk?"



Reminds me of one too.

You know what the two drunks told Jesus?

“You keep dropping that cross they are going to kick you out of this parade.”
Posted by weagle99
Member since Nov 2011
35893 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 9:58 pm to
quote:

deeprig9


Have an upvote
Posted by biglego
Ask your mom where I been
Member since Nov 2007
76581 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:00 pm to
Surprising bc my father said the Russians were usually pretty cool. He interacted with a lot of foreigners in the 1970s-1990s.
Posted by OMLandshark
Member since Apr 2009
109168 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:03 pm to
quote:

Surprising bc my father said the Russians were usually pretty cool. He interacted with a lot of foreigners in the 1970s-1990s.


I don’t know any of my friends over there that were friends of Russians. They were always cold to Westerners at large and didn’t like Asians either.

Weirdly, my some of my Asian friends got along with Pakistanis. However, Pakistanis and Americans couldn’t be in the same room in Beijing. It was definitely the country in relatively large numbers that hated us the most, and it always erupted into shite talking. You can’t have Pakistanis and Americans in the same restaurant since it tended to get out of control quickly.
Posted by Thib-a-doe Tiger
Member since Nov 2012
35466 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:06 pm to
I tell everybody to frick off


Then I ask how they’re doing
Posted by lammo
RIP LAMMO
Member since Aug 2005
9358 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:39 pm to
Como esta?
Posted by cable
Member since Oct 2018
9658 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:45 pm to
como estas
Posted by Champagne
Already Conquered USA.
Member since Oct 2007
48548 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:47 pm to
The English have taught their children polite manners for centuries. The classic way of introducing yourself or greeting another is to ask, "How do you do?"

Get it? "How do you do?" When a chick hears that from you in a fake English accent, she will get moist. Believe me, I know.
Posted by cable
Member since Oct 2018
9658 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 10:55 pm to
quote:

"How do you do?"


Posted by Dandy Lion
Member since Feb 2010
50255 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 11:30 pm to
¿Qué tal?
Posted by cable
Member since Oct 2018
9658 posts
Posted on 5/9/19 at 11:57 pm to
que pasa
Posted by BayouRat15
DAUPHIN ISLAND,AL
Member since Jan 2004
10182 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 12:47 am to
When they ask me " How are you?"

I say" Where Yat"
Posted by SoulGlo
Shinin' Through
Member since Dec 2011
17248 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 12:48 am to
Genki?

Comment ca va?

It's not an American custom... It's not even unique to the English language.
This post was edited on 5/10/19 at 12:50 am
Posted by FightingTigers138
In your thoughts
Member since Dec 2016
5746 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 1:24 am to
quote:

I think Americans are the only ones who regularly ask each other ‘How are you?’ at the start of a conversation.


Brazilians say the same thing.

"Tudo Bem?" or "Tudo Bom?"

And like us they often answer with the same phrase.

So we say: "How you doing?" Answer: "Hey, good, how you doing?"

They say: " Tudo Bem?" Answer: " Oi, Tudo Bom, Tudo Bem?."




This post was edited on 5/10/19 at 1:31 am
Posted by AlonsoWDC
Memphis, where it ain't Ten-a-Key
Member since Aug 2014
8778 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 1:49 am to
quote:

How's by you? (My people say)
Or just... By you?



Bayou what now?
Posted by baybeefeetz
Member since Sep 2009
31649 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 1:51 am to
Man frick the haters and downvoters. This was the post for me, buddy.


If a mfer axe me how I’m doing, I say fine. I don’t axe them. They dgaf anyway.
Posted by cupchu1
Member since Aug 2012
419 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 2:08 am to
«Ça va?» «Ça va. Ça va?» «Ça va.» is a legitimate conversation in France that is just asking and answering the question “how are you?”

“How’re things?/How’s things?/What’s the craic?” is the only way I’ve ever been greeted by an Irishman.

“¿Que tal?” is an opener in Spanish that has only ever garnered the response “bien” for me, and it just means “how are you?” “Fine.”

“How’s it going?” might be the most common opening phrase I get from British people.

This is like those “only in (X state) can (Y thing) happen” ideas that happen across the entire US.
Posted by cattus
Member since Jan 2009
13470 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 2:49 am to
I once said to myself that if we knew how much time and breath we waste on this it would be staggering.
Posted by HoustonChick86
Catalina Wine Mixer
Member since Dec 2009
57455 posts
Posted on 5/10/19 at 3:07 am to
I started listening to the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking. That about to be my new response.
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