I have been asked one simple question many times by Americans: "How are you?". I know this does not mean that the person I am talking to wants to know how I feel, but sometimes I see that they repeat the question to me, so I answer that "I am fine", and I do not know what I should answer other than "fine" to people who I do know.
I know, for example, that in Hebrew "How are you?" in most cases means "Hello". In Russian if you ask "How are you?" you definitely want to know it.
What do you mean when you ask this question? What answer do you want to hear?
Best Answer
Context is key. That being said, in most cases, in American English at least, "How are you?" just means "Hello." Not even a formal "fine" response is required. It would not be uncommon to hear two Americans have this conversation:
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If you want to respond to "how are you" by telling about your condition, you can, but it needs to be a very short response.
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The person asking "How are you?" is not trying to probe the depths of your health or your psyche; he or she is just making polite conversation. If they really want to know something, they will say something along the lines of:
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