how are you

Name: how are you, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/haʊ ˈɑː juː/

//haʊ ˈɑː juː// phrase

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“how are you” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English: 11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include

Corpus desk

Index EN-how-are-you · how are you · English

how are you · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-6 6 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-0 0 variants
BOOK-THIN "H" thin
PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for how are you
Property	Value
Headword	how are you
Language	English
Part of speech	Phrase
IPA	/haʊ ˈɑː juː/
Letters	11
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “how are you” sits in English frequency

how are youranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

how are you is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed /haʊ ˈɑː juː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for how are you, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is how are you, spelled H-O-W- -A-R-E- -Y-O-U.

Definition

1
An informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include
2
(Following a noun phrase; stress on are) An expression of derision, that the preceding referent is unworthy of the name. In form of an exclamation, and thus often followed by an exclamation mark.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how how are you appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

I'm very well, thank you. How are you? (formal) I'm fine, thank you. / Fine, thanks. (informal) / Fine, and you? (informal)
1967 July 20: Questions. Oral Answers. — Free Travel for Old Age Pensioners. Dáil Éireann debates Mr. Dunne: "A small point", says the Minister for Justice. Mr. Ryan: Justice, how are you! He would not recognise it in this world or the next.

Synonyms

how do you do?how are you doing?how's it going?how's things?how's tricks?what's up?how's it hanging?my foot!my eye!my arse!my ass!indeed!alright me babberalright me loveray up me duckhiya doin'how are thingshow are you how are you diddlinghow are you doinghow are you getting alonghow are you goinghow bisthow do you do how farest thou how goes ithow goes the battlehow goes the warhow're youhow's every little thinghow's everythinghow's it goinghow's it hanginghow's lifehow's thingshow's trickswhat cheerwhat gives what's cookingwhat's doingwhat's goodwhat's going onwhat's happeningwhat's in the bagwhat's new what's up you alright

This word in other languages

¿qué tal?(Español)comment allez-vous(Français)wie geht es dir?(Deutsch)tudo bem?(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "how are you"?

"how are you" is spelled H-O-W- -A-R-E- -Y-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is /haʊ ˈɑː juː/.

What does "how are you" mean?

As a phrase, "how are you" means: An informal greeting, not requiring a literal response. In form a question, and thus followed by a question mark. Typical responses include

How do you pronounce "how are you"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "how are you" is /haʊ ˈɑː juː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "how are you" come from?

"how are you" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.