How Are You in Russian: Kak Dela and the Honest Answers Russians Actually Give

Knowing how are you in Russian sounds like a small thing. But it is one of the first real exchanges you will have with a Russian speaker, and how you handle it matters more than you might expect. The question itself is easy. The answers are where it gets interesting, because Russians actually answer the question instead of treating it as a polite reflex.

The main phrase: Как дела?

The standard way to ask "how are you" in Russian is Как дела? (Kak dyela?). It is casual and very common. You will hear it between friends, between colleagues, between people who know each other reasonably well.

Russian	Pronunciation	English
Как дела?	Kak dyela?	How are you?
А у тебя?	A u tebya?	And you? (informal)
А у Вас?	A u Vas?	And you? (formal)

One thing to know right away: Как дела? is informal. You would not open with it to someone's parents on the first meeting. In formal settings, Russians often skip the "how are you" exchange altogether and go straight to the point. That is not rude, it is just how formal interaction works.

The honest answers (not just "fine, thanks")

This is where Russian is genuinely different from English. In English, "how are you?" has almost become a greeting in itself, and the expected answer is "good, thanks" whether or not that is true. Russians take the question a little more literally. They actually answer it.

Here are the real answers you will hear, and that you can use:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
Хорошо	Kharasho	Good
Отлично	Atlichna	Excellent / Great
Неплохо	Neploha	Not bad
Нормально	Narmal'na	Normal / Fine
Плохо	Ploha	Bad / Not well

The one that surprises English speakers every time is Нормально. In English, calling something "normal" sounds dismissive, almost like a shrug. In Russian, Нормально is a genuine positive answer. It means things are steady, life is good, nothing to complain about. If someone tells you Нормально, they are not brushing you off, they are actually doing fine.

Хорошо and Отлично are both clearly positive. Хорошо is the equivalent of "good", solid, warm, a real answer. Отлично steps it up a notch, like "great" or "excellent." Both are common and natural.

Неплохо, literally "not bad", is a slightly understated positive. Russians use it genuinely, not sarcastically. It sits comfortably between Хорошо and Нормально.

Плохо is honest. If something is wrong, a Russian speaker may actually say it. They will not pretend everything is fine out of politeness. This is a cultural trait worth understanding: honesty is more valued than performance. If your partner or their family member says Плохо and looks serious, take that at face value and ask what is wrong.

Formal vs informal: the version you use with parents

If you are asking someone older or someone you have just met, the word you use for "you" changes. Russian has two: ты (ty) for informal, Вы (Vy) for formal.

Russian	Pronunciation	English
Как у Вас дела?	Kak u Vas dyela?	How are you? (formal)
Как у тебя дела?	Kak u tebya dyela?	How are you? (informal)

With your partner's parents, use the formal version. With friends, cousins, and anyone your age or younger who you already know, the casual Как дела? is completely natural.

The follow-up: keeping it going

Once someone answers, you keep the exchange alive with one short phrase, and it makes a real impression.

After they answer, you say А у тебя? (informal) or А у Вас? (formal), meaning "and you?" It is the smallest thing, but it shows you are actually listening and not just running through a script. Russians notice when a foreigner actually engages.

A simple full exchange looks like this:

• Как дела? - How are you?
• Нормально, спасибо. А у тебя? (Narmal'na, spasiba. A u tebya?) - Fine, thanks. And you?
• Хорошо! - Good!

That is a real conversation. Short, warm, and complete.

Why this matters more than the words

Here is the cultural layer underneath all of this. Russians generally do not engage in small talk with strangers. Public interactions with people you do not know tend to be brief and reserved. So when someone asks you Как дела? it means you are already in a different category, you are not a stranger to them. The question is an act of inclusion.

When you answer it honestly and follow up with А у тебя? you are meeting that in the right spirit. You are not performing pleasantness. You are having a small but real exchange. That is exactly what this phrase is for.

Quick reference

You want to say...	Russian	Pronunciation
How are you?	Как дела?	Kak dyela?
Good	Хорошо	Kharasho
Great / Excellent	Отлично	Atlichna
Not bad	Неплохо	Neploha
Fine / Normal (genuinely positive)	Нормально	Narmal'na
Bad	Плохо	Ploha
And you? (informal)	А у тебя?	A u tebya?
And you? (formal)	А у Вас?	A u Vas?

The free greetings guide covers this exchange and the phrases around it, the hellos, the goodbyes, and the physical greeting customs that go with them. Download it free here.

If you want to go further and build real vocabulary from the ground up, numbers, family words, everyday phrases, all with Latin transcription so you can read before you have mastered Cyrillic, the Simple Russian e-book is where to start.