It usually seems, to me at least, that the proper and expected response is a mix of &quot;Good!&quot; and&#x2F;or just returning the &quot;How are you?&quot;<p>&quot;Meh&quot;, &quot;Ugh&quot;, and other actual emotions don&#x27;t seem to fit my idea of what the other person wants to hear. Those invite conversation, or almost hint at asking for a conversation. I don&#x27;t think that&#x27;s what the other person usually wants.<p>I&#x27;ve taken to mechanically translating &quot;how are you?&quot; into an emotionless &quot;hi&quot;.<p>I agree though, it&#x27;s all very weird. Americans don&#x27;t seem to just say &quot;hi&quot; very often.