How to Ask About Well-Being

Learn how to ask about well-being

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about well-being in Russian.

For example, "How are you?" is

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Milena Maslova is in the office breakroom.

She greets Edward Estis , a colleague, and asks about his well-being.

Before you listen to the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

хорошо (khorosho)

"well"

хорошо

Listen to the conversation and focus on the question.

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

Once more with the English translation.

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

"How are you?"

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

"I'm well."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Milena asks,

"How are you?"

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

First is как (kak), "how." Как . Как.

Next is дела (dela), meaning "things," as in the general state of affairs. Дела . Дела.

Together, it's Как дела? (Kak dela?), literally "How things," but it translates as "How are you?" Как дела?

Как дела? (Kak dela?) is the shortened form of the following:

Как у тебя дела? (Kak u tebya dela?), or

Как твои дела? (Kak tvoi dela?)

Both literally mean something like "How your things," but translate as “How are things?”

Note the rising intonation, indicating that it's a question: Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Edward says,

"I'm well."

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

"I’m well." Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

Note, Хорошо (khorosho) may translate as "well", "good", but we’ll use "[I’m] well," for this lesson.

Хорошо (Khorosho) . Хорошо.

Note, хорошо (khorosho) is the shortened form of у меня всё хорошо (u menya vsyo khorosho), literally something like "I have everything good," but translating as "I’m well." However, in Russian, у меня всё (u menya vsyo) is usually omitted.

Хорошо. (Khorosho).

Note the question Как дела? (Kak dela?) is for informal situations.

For formal situations, Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?) literally means "How [are you] living," but it translates as "How are you?" in formal situations.

Поживаете (pozhivayete) is from the verb поживать (pozhivat’), "to live." Поживать.

Remember this variation. You'll see it again later.

When asking about someone’s well being in Russian, don’t be surprised if you get a life story instead of a short response, such as, "I am fine," or "I’m okay." A Russian person may tell you about his, or her, life in detail, especially if you are friends or have known each other for a long time.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

"How are you?"

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

"I'm well."

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Неплохо. (Neplokho.)

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

"How are you?"

Неплохо. (Neplokho.)

"I'm not bad."

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

Прекрасно. (Prekrasno.)

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

"How are you?" - formal.

Прекрасно. (Prekrasno.)

"I'm fine."

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Отлично. (Otlichno.)

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

"How are you?"

Отлично. (Otlichno.)

"I'm great."

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?)

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

"How are you?"

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?)

"(I'm) well, and you?"

Did you notice how the last speaker added, А у тебя? (A u tebya?)

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?)

"(I'm) well, and you?"

First is хорошо (khorosho), "well." Хорошо.

Next is А у тебя? (A u tebya?) "And you?" А у тебя?

First is А. (A), "And." А . А.

Next is у тебя, "with you." у тебя . у тебя.

Together, it’s А у тебя? (A u tebya?) literally something like "And about you," but translates as "And you?" А у тебя?

You can use this phrase to reciprocate the question when someone asks you about your well being.

For example, if someone says,

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

You can respond with,

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?) "I’m well. And you?"

First, respond to the question. Then inquire about the other person’s well being with А у тебя? (A u tebya?) "And you?"

Note, as тебя (tebya), "you," is informal, this expression is appropriate for informal situations.

Remember this pattern, Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?) you’ll see it again later.

For formal situations you can use А у вас? (A u vas?).

As a rule of thumb remember, when you're asked Как дела? (Kak dela?) reply with your well being and А у тебя? (A u tebya?).

When you're asked Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?) respond with your well-being and А вы? (A vy?)

For example, Хорошо. А вы? (Khorosho. A vy?) "I’m well. And you?"

Let’s review the new words.

Неплохо (Neplokho). "Not bad / Pretty good." Неплохо . Неплохо.

Прекрасно (Prekrasno). "Fine." Прекрасно . Прекрасно.

Отлично (Otlichno). "Great." Отлично . Отлично.

Хорошо (Khorosho) - "Well/Good." Хорошо . Хорошо.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say “how”?

как (kak)

как (kak).

And do you remember how Milena Maslova asks,

"How are you?"

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Do you remember the formal way to ask "How are you"?

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

Do you remember how Edward Estis says,

"I'm well."

Хорошо. (Khorosho.)

Do you remember how to say, "And you?" (informal)

А у тебя? (A u tebya?)

And how to say "pretty good?"

Неплохо (Neplokho).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Edward , Milena ’s colleague. Ask how Milena is doing using informal Russian.

Ready?

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Неплохо. (Neplokho.)

Listen again and repeat.

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Miroslav ’s teacher, Karolina Kalashnikova , and you’re starting class.

Ask about Miroslav ’s well being using formal Russian.

Ready?

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

Хорошо. А вы? (Khorosho. A vy?)

Listen again and repeat.

Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Mikhail Maslov , and you meet your friend at school. Respond by saying, "Well. And you?"

Ready?

Как дела? (Kak dela?)

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?)

Listen again and repeat.

Хорошо. А у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tebya?)

This is the end of this lesson.

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