How Are You in Persian: Every Way to Ask and Answer

The everyday way to ask “how are you?” in Persian is چطوری؟ (chetori?) with friends, or حالتون چطوره؟ (hâletun chetore?) with people you address politely. The formal written form is حال شما چطور است؟ (hâl-e shomâ chetor ast?). The usual answer is خوبم، مرسی (khubam, mersi): “I’m fine, thanks.”

Asking about someone’s health and family is a real ritual in Iran, called احوال‌پرسی (ahvâlporsi), and it often goes on for several rounds. This guide gives you every common way to ask, every common answer, the polite and friendly versions, and the small talk that follows, with pronunciation and practice.

How to ask “how are you?” in Persian

Persian has two levels of “you”: تو (to) for friends, family and children, and شما (shomâ) for strangers, elders, colleagues and anyone you want to show respect to. Each way of asking “how are you” has a friendly and a polite version. If the difference is new to you, our lesson on polite Persian: shomâ instead of to explains it.

Chetori? The friendly “how are you”

چطوری؟ (chetori?) Listen is built from چطور (chetor, “how”) plus the ending -i, which means “you are” for to. It is what friends, classmates and siblings say to each other dozens of times a week. It usually comes right after سلام (salâm, “hello”): سلام، چطوری؟ (salâm, chetori?) Listen. Learn more about the greeting itself on our page for salâm (سلام), the Persian word for hello.

For the polite version, change the ending to -id: چطورید؟ (chetorid?). In everyday Tehran speech this ending often sounds like -in: chetorin? Both are fine to use.

Hâlet chetore? Asking about someone’s state

حال (hâl) means “state” or “condition,” so حالت چطوره؟ (hâlet chetore?) Listen is literally “how is your state?” The -et ending means “your” (for to); swap it for -etun to be polite: حالتون چطوره؟ (hâletun chetore?) Listen. The most respectful spoken version uses the full pronoun: حال شما چطوره؟ (hâl-e shomâ chetore?) Listen.

The ending -e on chetore is the spoken form of است (ast, “is”). That is why the written version reads حال شما چطور است؟ (hâl-e shomâ chetor ast?) Listen. You will see this form in textbooks, letters and on the news, but in conversation it sounds bookish.

Khubi? The quickest check-in

خوبی؟ (khubi?) Listen means “are you good?” It is very common, especially in quick greetings: سلام، خوبی؟ (salâm, khubi?). Politely, say خوبید؟ (khubid?), often pronounced khubin?

Che khabar? “What’s new?” and other casual questions

After “how are you,” friends often ask for news. These are all spoken and friendly.

چه خبر؟ (che khabar?) Listen literally means “what news?” It is the closest thing to “what’s up?” The classic answer is سلامتی (salâmati) Listen, “health,” which means “nothing much, everyone’s healthy.” It is one of the most useful one-word replies in the language.

How to answer “how are you?” in Persian

Here are the replies you will use and hear most. Mark the register: most of them are spoken forms.

خوبم (khubam) Listen is خوب (khub, “good”) plus -am (“I am”). بد نیستم (bad nistam) Listen is “I’m not bad.” خدا رو شکر (khodâ ro shokr) Listen, “thank God,” is a very common way to say “I’m well,” and you will hear it from people of all backgrounds; the written form is خدا را شکر (khodâ râ shokr).

For more ways to describe your mood, see how to express emotions in Persian.

Asking back: “and you?”

Iranians nearly always return the question. Use these:

• تو چطوری؟ (to chetori?): and how are you? (friendly) Listen
• شما چطورید؟ (shomâ chetorid?): and how are you? (polite)
• تو چی؟ (to chi?): what about you? (friendly)
• شما خوبید؟ (shomâ khubid?): are you well? (polite)

A full exchange might go: مرسی، خوبم. تو چطوری؟ (mersi, khubam. to chetori?) “Thanks, I’m fine. How about you?” and then منم خوبم (manam khubam), “I’m fine too.”

Polite vs. friendly: the same question at three levels

The quickest way to sound natural is to match the level of the other person. Here is the same idea at three levels.

Two tips. First, when you are unsure, use the polite form; nobody is offended by too much respect. Second, an older person or a friend may answer your polite question in the friendly form. That is an invitation to relax a little, not a correction. The differences between spoken endings like -e and written است (ast) are part of a bigger pattern explained in spoken vs. written Persian.

Ahvâlporsi: why Iranians ask more than once

In English, “how are you?” is often a greeting that expects no real answer. In Persian, asking after someone’s health and family is a sign of care, and skipping it can feel cold. A typical exchange, especially with relatives or older people, covers several questions in a row:

• خوبید؟ سرحالید؟ (khubid? sarhâlid?): Are you well? Are you in good spirits?
• خانواده خوبن؟ (khânevâde khuban?): Is the family well? Listen
• بچه‌ها خوبن؟ (bachche-hâ khuban?): Are the kids well?
• مامان چطوره؟ (mâmân chetore?): How’s your mom?

Answer each one briefly and ask back. At the end, people often send greetings to each other’s families:

• سلام برسون (salâm beresun): say hi (to your family) for me. Spoken, friendly. Listen
• سلام برسونید (salâm beresunid): the polite form.
• همه خوبن، سلام می‌رسونن (hame khuban, salâm mirasunan): everyone’s well, they send their greetings.

For a wider view of greetings, see Persian most common phrases: greeting and the beginner review on Persian greetings and introductions.

Small talk after “how are you”

Once the greeting is done, these spoken phrases keep the conversation going.

خسته نباشید (khaste nabâshid) Listen is a special greeting. You say it to someone who has been working: a cashier, a teacher, a colleague at the end of the day. It recognizes their effort. The reply is سلامت باشید (salâmat bâshid), “be well,” or simply مرسی (mersi).

Sample conversations

Two friends meet

Sara: سلام علی، چطوری؟ (salâm Ali, chetori?) “Hi Ali, how are you?”
Ali: سلام، مرسی خوبم. تو چطوری؟ (salâm, mersi khubam. to chetori?) “Hi, thanks, I’m good. You?”
Sara: منم خوبم. چه خبر؟ (manam khubam. che khabar?) “I’m good too. What’s new?”
Ali: سلامتی. سرم یه کم شلوغه (salâmati. saram ye kam sholughe) “Nothing much. I’m a bit busy.”

Meeting an older neighbor

You: سلام آقای رضایی، حال شما چطوره؟ (salâm âghâ-ye Rezâyi, hâl-e shomâ chetore?) “Hello Mr. Rezaei, how are you?”
Neighbor: سلام، خدا رو شکر. شما خوبید؟ خانواده خوبن؟ (salâm, khodâ ro shokr. shomâ khubid? khânevâde khuban?) “Hello, thank God. Are you well? Is the family well?”
You: همه خوبن، سلام می‌رسونن (hame khuban, salâm mirasunan) “Everyone’s well, they send their greetings.”

Practice dialogues like these in Persian Conversation 1: saying hello and how are you and greeting someone in Persian.

A note on Dari and Tajik

Persian is spoken in Iran, Afghanistan (as Dari) and Tajikistan (as Tajik). The phrases in this post are Iranian Persian, mostly as spoken in Tehran. The formal written forms are understood everywhere, but everyday spoken greetings differ by country. If you are learning for Afghanistan, see our page on Dari greetings and common phrases.

Ready to test yourself on more greetings? Try the Persian greetings quiz. And if you want many more everyday exchanges like these, the book Farsi Conversations is built around them.

Common questions

How do you say “how are you” in Farsi?

With friends say چطوری؟ (chetori?) or حالت چطوره؟ (hâlet chetore?). With people you address politely say حالتون چطوره؟ (hâletun chetore?) or حال شما چطوره؟ (hâl-e shomâ chetore?). The formal written form is حال شما چطور است؟ (hâl-e shomâ chetor ast?).

How do you respond to “chetori”?

Say خوبم، مرسی (khubam, mersi), “I’m fine, thanks,” then ask back: تو چطوری؟ (to chetori?). Other answers are بد نیستم (bad nistam), “not bad,” and خسته‌ام (khaste-am), “I’m tired.”

What does “che khabar” mean?

چه خبر؟ (che khabar?) literally means “what news?” and works like “what’s up?” or “what’s new?” The most common answer is سلامتی (salâmati), meaning “nothing much, all is well.”

What is the difference between chetori and chetorid?

Chetori uses the friendly “you” (تو, to); chetorid (often pronounced chetorin) uses the polite or plural “you” (شما, shomâ). Use chetori with friends and chetorid with elders, strangers and colleagues, or when speaking to a group.

How do you say “I’m fine, how are you” in Persian?

Friendly: خوبم، تو چطوری؟ (khubam, to chetori?). Polite: خوبم، شما چطورید؟ (khubam, shomâ chetorid?). Adding مرسی (mersi) or ممنون (mamnun) for “thanks” makes it sound more natural.

Related guides: Hello in Persian: salâm and how to reply · Good morning and good night in Persian · Goodbye in Persian: khodâhâfez and other farewells

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