How are you in Japanese: お元気ですか (ogenki desu ka)
How are you in Japanese is お元気ですか (おげんきですか, ogenki desu ka, “how are you?”). It literally means "are you well?", and the usual answer is genki desu, "I'm well".
The phrase has four parts:
- お (o), a polite prefix that shows respect for the other person.
- 元気 (げんき, genki, “healthy”), also "well" or "fit". Its kanji are 元, "origin", and 気, "energy" or "spirit".
- です (desu), the polite "is".
- か (ka, “indicates a question”), the little word that turns a sentence into a question.
The kana are お, で, す and か. Tap one to hear it.
When you answer, drop the お. You say 元気です (genki desu), not お元気です, because お shows respect, and you don't use it about yourself. Rosetta Stone warns learners about exactly this. The TKG learner's dictionary gives the standard reply as はい、元気です, "Yes, I'm fine". はい (hai) is the polite "yes".
There's a catch. Tofugu points out that although this exchange is taught in almost every classroom, "it's actually not all that common for a Japanese person to utter these exact words". Japan Dev agrees: most of the time, people simply greet each other and don't ask how someone is doing unless they haven't seen each other in a while.
When Japanese people actually ask お元気ですか
After time apart. The TKG dictionary notes that お元気ですか isn't a daily greeting. It's for someone you haven't seen in a while. It often follows お久しぶり (おひさしぶり, ohisashiburi, “it's been a long time”) (add です to be polite). There's no fixed length of time: "a while" is enough. For more greetings like this one, see Hello in Japanese.
In writing. Mynavi News says お元気ですか is used with people of the same standing or people you're close to. It recommends it as a way to open a written message: a letter, an email, a LINE message or a New Year card.
Not every day. With people you see daily, such as family, classmates or colleagues, you just greet them: おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu, “good morning”) in the morning, or こんにちは (konnichiwa, “hello”). Asking a colleague お元気ですか every morning would likely sound odd, as if you hadn't met in a long time.
Casual how are you: genki? and saikin dō?
With friends, you drop the polite parts:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 元気 | げんき | genki | healthy; well; fit | Said as a question, 元気?, to friends |
| 最近どう | さいきんどう | saikin dō | How are you?; What's up? | What's up? How are things? To friends |
| 久しぶり | ひさしぶり | hisashiburi | it's been a long time; long time no see | Long time no see, with friends |
Japan Dev says the casual 元気? is what you'll more often hear among friends and peers. Like the polite version, it's often asked after some time apart. Tofugu shows the whole casual exchange: one person asks 元気?, and the other answers 元気.
How to answer: 元気です and おかげさまで
The simple answer is はい、元気です (hai, genki desu), "Yes, I'm fine", with no お. With friends, just 元気 is enough.
To be more polite, start with おかげさまで (okagesama de, “thanks to your (his, their, everyone's, etc.) kindness”). It thanks the other person, in a general way, for caring about you. Mynavi News gives this model reply: 「ありがとうございます。お陰様で元気に過ごしております」. In plain English: "Thank you. Thanks to you, I'm keeping well." It opens with ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu, “thank you”). For more on that phrase, see Thank You in Japanese.
If you're not great, まあまあ (māmā, “so-so”) means "so-so". まあまあです is one honest answer, but whether it sounds polite enough to someone senior is worth checking with a native speaker.
How to ask back: "and you?"
In speech, Rosetta Stone says you use the person's name or title, then は (wa), with a rising voice. Its example is 「元気です。おばあちゃんは?」: "I am fine. How are you, Granny?" With someone you call by name, that's often their name and さん (san), as in Tanaka-san wa?
In a message, Mynavi News suggests sharing your own news first, then asking back with 「あなたもお元気ですか」, "Are you well too?". It says this shows you care about the other person.
Polite ways to ask how someone has been
With someone senior, or in a formal letter or email, these phrases are politer than お元気ですか. The last one is the line that often comes before them:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| お変わりありませんか | おかわりありませんか | okawari arimasen ka | how have you been?; nothing (untoward) has happened, has it? | How have you been? Polite, after time apart |
| いかがお過ごしですか | いかがおすごしですか | ikaga osugoshi desu ka | how are things with you?; how are you doing? | How are you doing? Polite, often in letters and emails |
| いかがお過ごしでしょうか | いかがおすごしでしょうか | ikaga osugoshi deshō ka | how are things with you?; how are you doing?; how are you getting along? | Even more polite: to someone senior |
| ご無沙汰 | ごぶさた | gobusata | not writing or contacting for a while; neglecting (failing) to write (call, visit, etc.); long silence | Said before the question, as ご無沙汰しています: sorry I haven't been in touch |
Oggi, a Japanese lifestyle magazine, says いかがお過ごしでしょうか goes at the start of letters and business emails, before the main point. It's often paired with ご無沙汰しております when you write to someone after a long time. The basic reply, it says, starts with おかげさまで.
Phrases that look like how are you but aren't
大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ, daijōbu) means "all right" or "OK". As a question, 大丈夫? or 大丈夫ですか, it means "are you OK?". Japan Dev lists it as a casual check-in with friends. Because it asks whether things are OK, it may sound as if you think something is wrong, so it isn't a plain hello.
元気でね (げんきでね, genki de ne, “take care”) uses 元気 too, but it's a goodbye, not a question. Tofugu explains it as "take care" or "stay well". See Goodbye in Japanese for more.
Practise the greetings
お元気ですか, こんにちは, またね and more, with their sound, in a two-minute quiz.
Questions about how are you in Japanese
What does ogenki desu ka mean?
Ogenki desu ka (お元気ですか) means "how are you?", literally "are you well?". The お at the start is a polite prefix.
Is it ogenki or genki?
Both are correct, for different jobs. お元気ですか asks politely about someone else, and 元気? on its own is casual, for friends. About yourself, always drop the お: say 元気です, never お元気です.
How do you respond to ogenki desu ka?
Say はい、元気です (hai, genki desu), without the お. It means "Yes, I'm fine". To be extra polite, start with おかげさまで. Then ask back: the person's name and は in speech, or あなたもお元気ですか in a message.
How do you politely say how are you in Japanese?
お元気ですか is polite. With someone senior you haven't seen in a while, お変わりありませんか or いかがお過ごしですか is politer.
How are you doing in Japanese casual?
Say 元気? or 最近どう? to friends.
What is konnichiwa ogenki desu ka?
Konnichiwa ogenki desu ka means "hello, how are you?": こんにちは followed by お元気ですか. It fits best when you haven't seen someone for a while, or at the start of a message.
Sources
- Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including its notes that おかげさまで is polite and usually written in kana, and that お久しぶり, お変わりありませんか and いかがお過ごしですか are polite.
- The standard reply はい、元気です, and お元気ですか being for someone you haven't seen in a while: TKG Japanese-English Learner's Dictionary, 元気.
- Not using お about yourself, and asking back with a name or title and は: Rosetta Stone, How To Say "How Are You?" in Japanese (1 May 2026).
- How common the phrase is, the casual 元気?, 元気でね and the kanji: Tofugu, The Meaning of Genki (10 July 2018).
- Asking only after time apart, 元気? among friends, and 大丈夫: Japan Dev, How to Say "How Are You" in Japanese (26 May 2023).
- お元気ですか as a message opener, the model reply and asking back in writing: Mynavi News, 「お元気ですか」の敬語表現は? (2023).
- いかがお過ごしでしょうか, ご無沙汰しております and replying with おかげさまで: Oggi, いかがお過ごしでしょうか (2026).
- How often お元気ですか is said aloud, how much time apart it needs, まあまあです as a reply, a name with さん and は to ask back, the tone of 大丈夫? and こんにちは、お元気ですか in speech are waiting for a native speaker's check.