Vocabulary
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Learn the key pattern to ask about well-being
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Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
First, do you remember how Mark asks, |
"How are you? " |
げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) |
First is げんき "well," in this context. げ-ん-き. げんき。 |
After this is です。 In this case, it's like the "are" in "are [you]." で-す. です。 |
Last is か, the question-marking particle. It turns the sentence into a question. か。 |
All together, it's げんきですか。 This literally means "Well are [you]?" But it translates as "How are [you]?" げんきですか. |
The word for "you" is understood from context, as this is a two-person conversation. |
In Japanese, it's more common to avoid the word for "you," when it's clear from context, as it sounds too direct. |
げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) |
Let's take a closer look at the response. |
Do you remember how Yoshi says, |
"Yes. I'm well." |
はい、げんきです。(Hai, genki desu.) |
"Yes, I'm well." はい、げんきです。 |
First is はい, "yes." は-い. はい。 |
This answers Mark's yes-or-no question, Are you well? げんきですか. |
The second part of the response should be familiar based on the question. |
げんきです. "I'm well." げんきです。 |
First is げんき, "well." げんき。 |
After this is です. In this case, it's like the "am" in "[I] am." です。 |
Note, "I" is understood from context, as the speaker is answering the question, and therefore omitted. |
All together, it's はい、げんきです. "Yes, I'm well." |
はい、げんきです。(Hai, genki desu.) |
To answer the question about well-being, |
げんきですか。 |
You just learned the polite expression げんきですか (genki desu ka), How are you? |
In very casual situations, such as with a close friend or family, you can use the informal way to ask, "How are you?" げんき? (Genki?) |
Notice the rising intonation. げんき? |
The meaning is the same as the polite version, げんきですか。(Genki desu ka.) How are you? However, ですか。is omitted. |
As this form is appropriate for very casual situations, if you are unsure, it's best to use the polite form, げんきですか。especially when starting out in Japanese. |
To respond in the informal way of asking, "How are you?" げんき? (Genki?) |
You can simply say, げんき (genki), " [I'm] well. げんき. |
Note, the difference in intonation from the question. |
So an informal conversation among friends could sound like this: |
げんき?(Genki?) " [You] good?" |
げんき。(Genki.) " [I'm] Good." |
Note, Japanese native speakers are more likely to ask about each other's well-being when they haven't seen each other for a while. |
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