tomoakiyama We don’t usually say this! RT @ispeakjapanese: Japanese phrase of the day: お元気ですか？ (ogenki desu ka?) = How are you? http://bit.ly/9Olr4c

gakuranman @tomoakiyama Am guessing the phrase to substitute in that situation would be something like: 今日は寒いですね！ [ kyoo wa samui desu ne! (Koud vandaag he!)]

tomoakiyama @gakuranman Yes, it’s ritualistic. We would take 元気 [ genki ] questions literally - ‘why is this person interested in my health?’

gakuranman @tomoakiyama What would you say to a friend who you haven’t seen for: 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, 14 days? Wondering how your greeting changes.?

tomoakiyama @gakuranman It depends on how often I espect to see the friend but I do say 久しぶり！元気？ [ Hisashiburi! Genki? (Tijd geleden! Hoe is tie? [zeer informeel)] after about a couple of months.

gakuranman @tomoakiyama So what would you say to a friend when you call them or meet them after a few days?

tomoakiyama @gakuranman No particular greeting expression. I can only think of ‘[name of the friend]！’ ‘あ、ごめん。待った？’ ‘飯食った？’ ‘どこ行こうか。’ ‘もしもし、俺だけど(phone)’ [ (naam vriend), (Ah, gomen. Matta? (Sorry, heb ik je laten wachten? [zeer informeel]) | meshi kutta? (Heb je al gegeten? [zeer informeel]) | doko ikoo ka? (Waar ga je naar toe? [zeer informeel]) | moshimoshi, boku da kedo [alleen aan de telefoon] (Hoi, ik ben 't [zeer informeel])

tomoakiyama @gakuranman lol conversely in the US I first wondered why a grocery cashier would be interested in my health.