最近どう
saikin dou
最近どう (saikin dou) is the Japanese way to say "wassup".
This phrase is used to check in on someone's general state or recent life events, effectively asking how they have been lately.
Which one should you use?
While 最近どう is the casual form, you can make it more polite by adding ですか to the end, resulting in 最近どうですか. Additionally, おっす is a separate slangy greeting often used among friends or peers.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
最近どう is an informal phrase and should only be used with friends or people of equal or lower social status. For a polite version, use 最近どうですか.
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn 最近どう into a question meaning "How's it going lately?", add a rising intonation at the end.
How do you pronounce it?
saikin dou
Did you know?
- While 最近どう is a standard casual greeting, the slang おっす is a heavily clipped version of 'ohayou gozaimasu', originally used by martial arts practitioners. It functions as a high-energy, masculine 'hey' or 'wassup' among close male friends.
- Unlike the English 'wassup', which often expects a similar 'nothing much' response, answering 最近どう in Japanese often invites a genuine, longer description of recent events. It is frequently treated as a sincere opening for a status update.
- Japanese has a concept called kuuki wo yomu or 'reading the air', which determines if 最近どう is appropriate or if the silence should be left alone to avoid bothering the other person.
Examples in context
- 最近どう？saikin dou?Wassup?
- 久しぶり！最近どう？hisashiburi! saikin dou?Long time no see! Wassup?
- 元気？最近どうなの？genki? saikin dou nano?Are you good? Wassup lately?
Example conversation
Two friends run into each other at a cafe.
- 陽太 Yotaあ、美咲！最近どう？A, Misaki! saikin dou?Oh, Misaki! Wassup?
- 美咲 Misaki陽太くん！相変わらず忙しいよ。Youta-kun! aikawarazu isogashii yo.Youta! I'm as busy as ever.
- 陽太 Yotaそっか、大変そうだね。sokka, taihen sou da ne.I see, sounds tough.
- 美咲 Misakiでも、元気だよ！demo, genki da yo!But, I'm doing well!
