How to Say How Are You in Vietnamese and Reply

How to Say How Are You: Bạn Khỏe Không?

Bạn khỏe không? asks whether the other person is well. It is a useful "How are you?" for a peer.

Ask How Someone Is with the Right Address Term

Replace bạn with the word you already use for the other person. The rest of the basic question stays the same.

In familiar age-based relationships, anh and chị address an older man or woman; em addresses someone younger. Family roles can determine the terms instead.

Vietnamese greetings gives more help with these address terms. Avoid using bạn for everyone just because English uses one word for "you".

How Have You Been? Dạo Này Thế Nào?

Dạo này bạn thế nào? means "How have you been lately?". It invites a broader update than a question about feeling well.

Dạo này means "lately" or "these days". Thế nào asks "how" in this question.

You can change the address term here too: Dạo này anh thế nào? works for someone you address as anh.

Choose the broader question when you want to hear about the person’s recent life, then leave room for their answer.

How to Reply: Well, Okay, Busy, or Not So Well

Answer with how you actually feel. Tôi khỏe means "I’m well", but you can also give a brief update about your day.

Vẫn means "still". Hơi means "a little" here. Không khỏe lắm expresses "not very well", so it gives a different answer from simply saying you are busy.

Use Tôi khỏe, without adding là. Vietnamese grammar explains how adjectives work in statements like this.

Change the address terms together. If you call the other person chị, return the question with Còn chị? and use your usual self-reference in the answer.

You can keep a less-positive answer short too. Saying you feel tired does not require a detailed explanation of your whole day.

Ask About Work, Family, or Today

A follow-up question can make a check-in more specific. Ask about something you actually want to hear about, then give the person time to answer.

Công việc means "work", and gia đình means "family". The last question checks on people’s health or well-being; it does not ask for a complete family history.

After a quick hello, one question may be enough. If you have time to catch up, follow the detail the person gives you. A reply about work creates a natural opening to ask about work.

Keep greeting-like questions in context. Ăn cơm chưa? asks whether someone has eaten; it is not a word-for-word replacement for every English "How are you?".

Pronunciation: Bạn, Khỏe, and Không

Bạn khỏe không has three syllables with the written tones nặng, hỏi, and ngang.

You may also see khoẻ. It is an alternative placement of the tone mark in the same word.

The circumflex in không marks the vowel ô, not a separate tone. Keep it when writing the phrase.

Khỏe is one syllable, not two separate words for the letters o and e. In a Hanoi pronunciation, both khỏe and không begin with air flowing near the back of the mouth.

The question is already marked by its wording. Keep the word tones rather than relying on a rising English question melody to show that you are asking something.

Vietnamese pronunciation explains these sounds and regional differences. Practice the question and a short answer together so the phrase becomes part of an exchange.

Three How Are You Conversations

Choose the question and follow-up for the situation. A brief check-in and a longer catch-up need different amounts of detail.

You can begin these exchanges after saying good morning. Let the answer guide your next question; you do not need to work through every line in a phrase list.

FAQ