How are you – to be or not to be when talking to Russians

When you meet any English-speaking person, you hear 'Hello, how are you?' or just 'oh! How are you?'. I already got used to that and quickly – while passing – answer 'thank you, hello' or just 'how are you?'. I LEARNT to do that, though sometimes i am still confused about that. Why? Let me explain)

When Russians meet, they say «Здравствуйте»  to people they meet for the first time or to those who are elder or higher in the hierarchy . Literary it means ‘Be healthy’ (здоровье – turns to the stem здрав  - zdrav and then came to imperative zdrav-stvuite). For friends we use Privet (hi) – привет!  Sometimes we may say «Здорово» , which is also ‘hi’, but keeps the old meaning wishing health.  It is a good manner to smile when you greet someone.

Then it depends on the person you greet. You may just pass if there’s nothing to discuss with him. Or you may spend few minutes to learn how is your friend. And here we ask ‘How are you?’ – «как дела?», «как ты», «ну как поживаешь» (how do you live), «какие новости» (anything new?)

So what does it mean? It means that Russians use this question when they REALLY what to ask how are you. And it means that they expect to get the answer. What kind of the answer – that already depends on your politeness (it’s already another – and very interesting - thing to discuss). As well as smiling – this is something that shouldn’t be formal (well, we speak about everyday life, not business etiquette that is usually very formal), and requires a sincere question and sincere answer.