How do you answer if someone asks you, "¿Cómo estás?" or "How are you?"? The standard answer is probably "Bien" ("Fine") or "Muy bien" ("Very good"). Of course, both of those responses are often expanded: "Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?" ("Quite well, thank you. And you?").
But if you want to spice up your life the tiniest bit, there are other answers you can give, and our readers have suggested theirs in our forum for Spanish students.


Here are a few of them that would be understood everywhere:

• Bastante bien. Good enough.
• ¡Buenísimo! Great!
• Mal. Bad.
• Malísimo. Terrible.
• Igual que siempre. Same as always.
• Regular. Same as usual.
• Así, así. So-so.

And, of course, there are phrases you may hear in certain areas. One of my favorites: Feliz como un lombriz, which literally means "happy as an earthworm" but is the rough equivalent of the colloquial English saying "happy as a clam." (Are earthworms and clams capable of being happy? I'm not sure.)
Of course, "¿Cómo estas?" is just one way you can greet people. Most of the common ones are listed in our lesson on greetings. And if you're meeting someone for the first time, our lesson on introducing yourself can also come in handy.

If you're heard other greetings during your travels, feel free to share them in our forum or by clicking the Comments link below.