你今天过得怎么样
nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng
To ask how is your day in Mandarin Chinese, say 你今天过得怎么样 (nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng).
It asks about someone's experiences and feelings during the current day and is a friendly question among people who know each other.
What does it mean word for word?
你 means you, 今天 means today, 过得 means spent or passed and 怎么样 means how. Literally it asks how you are passing today.
Which one should you use?
你今天过得好吗？ asks more simply whether the day was good. 最近怎么样？ asks how someone has been lately rather than about today.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Replacing 你 with 您 makes the question more polite and respectful, as in 您今天过得怎么样, which suits elders or superiors. A very formal version for professional settings is 请问您今天过得如何？
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 得 links the verb 过, to pass or spend time, to the complement 怎么样, which describes how the day is going. A shorter, more colloquial version drops 过: 你今天怎么样.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng, with de light and unstressed.
When do people say it?
A common natural reply is 挺好的, meaning pretty good.
Did you know?
- To show care for someone's well-being, Chinese speakers often use 你吃饭了吗 ('Have you eaten?') as a general greeting instead of asking about their day.
- Using this phrase with a complete stranger in China can feel unexpectedly intrusive or overly intimate, whereas in English 'How is your day' is a standard, safe polite distance greeting.
- The character 过 in this phrase is the same word used for 'crossing' a street or 'overdoing' something, linking the passage of time to physical movement and excess.
Examples in context
- 我过得很好I had a great day
- 还不错Not bad
- 你今天过得怎么样？Nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng?How is your day going?
- 亲爱的，你今天过得怎么样？Qīn'ài de, nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng?Honey, how was your day?
- 我想知道你今天过得怎么样。Wǒ xiǎng zhīdào nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng.I want to know how your day is going.
Example conversation
Wei meets Jia Yi at home in the evening.
- 伟 Wei佳怡，你今天过得怎么样？Jiāyí, nǐ jīntiān guò de zěnmeyàng?Jia Yi, how was your day?
- 佳怡 Jiayi挺好的，谢谢你。Tǐng hǎo de, xièxiè nǐ.It was quite good, thank you.
- 伟 Wei今天工作很忙吗？Jīntiān gōngzuò hěn máng ma?Was work busy today?
- 佳怡 Jiayi有一点忙，但是很充实。Yǒu yīdiǎn máng, dànshì hěn chōngshí.A bit busy, but very productive.
