How have you been? It is very rare that I have a student who has heard of this greeting before, and what a shame that is! This is one of the most common greetings we use in English, it is used much like 'How are you?'. The difference is 'How are you?' is asking about the present moment, i.e. 'How are you in this moment?'. Whereas 'How have you been?' is used when speaking to someone who you have spoken to before, and is asking about not just the present moment, but the time which has past since you last spoke to them. Example. 'Hi James! It's been a while! How have you been?' 'Not too bad, I started a new job so I have been busy with work' I help my students master nuances like this everyday, and I would appreciate it if you checked out my profile!