How to Say “How have you been doing?” in Chinese
Greetings and politeness · HSK 3
"How have you been doing?" in Chinese is 你最近怎么样 (Nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng). 最近 (zuì jìn, 'recently') is the key word here; literally 'you recently how-about?' It's the standard go-to for catching up with someone you haven't seen in a while. 咋样 (zǎ yàng) is a northern/casual contraction of 怎么样 and sounds very natural among friends in Beijing or the Northeast, but feels weird in Taiwan; southerners and Taiwanese speakers stick with 怎麼樣.
Primary translation
你最近怎么样
Nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng
Traditional: 你最近怎麼樣
Variants by register
Formal
您最近过得怎么样
Nín zuì jìn guò de zěn me yàng
Casual
最近咋样
Zuì jìn zǎ yàng
When to use it
最近 (zuì jìn, 'recently') is the key word here; literally 'you recently how-about?' It's the standard go-to for catching up with someone you haven't seen in a while. 咋样 (zǎ yàng) is a northern/casual contraction of 怎么样 and sounds very natural among friends in Beijing or the Northeast, but feels weird in Taiwan; southerners and Taiwanese speakers stick with 怎麼樣. A typical reply is 还行 (hái xíng, 'so-so') or 挺好的 (tǐng hǎo de, 'pretty good'). Saying 很好 sounds stiff.
Example sentences
好久不见，你最近怎么样？
Hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn, nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng?
Long time no see; how have you been doing?
工作忙吗？最近怎么样？
Gōng zuò máng ma? Zuì jìn zěn me yàng?
Busy at work? How have you been?
听说你换工作了，最近怎么样？
Tīng shuō nǐ huàn gōng zuò le, zuì jìn zěn me yàng?
I heard you changed jobs; how's it been going?