When to use "what about you?" and when to use "how about you?" ?
When somebody says:
-- Hi there, HOW are you?
I say:
-- Hi, i'm fine, thanks, HOW about you?
Is it the same if I say: "what about you?" in that situation?

Question

When to use "what about you?" and when to use "how about you?" ?
When somebody says:
-- Hi there, HOW are you?
I say:
-- Hi, i'm fine, thanks, HOW about you?
Is it the same if I say: "what about you?" in that situation?

Answer

In this situation the phrases seem to be equal.

I would guess that whether one uses 'how' or 'what' would be based on colloquial speech.

Gramatically, I prefer "How are you?"

However, on a scale of most formal to least formal I would rank it this way:
"I'm fine, how are you?" most formal
"I'm fine, how about you? less formal
"I'm fine, what about you?" least formal

Đừng bỏ lỡ cơ hội học ngoại ngữ ngay tại nhà. Hãy xem danh sách các gia sư ngôn ngữ giàu kinh nghiệm của chúng tôi và đăng ký buổi học đầu tiên ngay hôm nay!