Difference between alright?, you alright…

[Lopiun]

Not a native speaker.

I fear this coming up.

Am I right in thinking:

alright? = hi

you alright? = you ok?
with “yes thanks” being an adequate response to the above.

HELP

Yep

You alright can definitely be 'hi' too. It's contextual. Saying 'Hiya, you alright' can also means hello - there's no need to respond as to how you are.

The response you can't go wrong with in any situation is 'yeah, you alright', or just repeating 'alright' in the same tone as the other party.

I treat the "you ok" as invisible.

A good response to either for me is - hey, how's it going?

My question is rhetorical. It's more a catchall greeting

OP, it depends on region of the UK! I moved from my region where alright=hi and you alright=are you alright/ok? to somewhere where you alright=hi but I just couldn't stop myself giving an answer each time. 😳

Yes- '(are you) all right?' can be used as a greeting - it's got much the same meaning as the oldfashioned 'how do you do?'

'You all right?' is more likely to be an actual question.

I'd guess you can generally tell from the context but either way responding in kind 'All right!' would work.

what is a good response to “you alright?”

“good thank you” always feels wrong

Should I just ignore as suggested by a pp?

The reply is

”Yeah. You?”

The most important thing is that native speakers are generally in awe of non native speakers, and supportive too. So don’t worry about getting it right!

You’re spot on though:
Alright / Alright? (greeting: answer - alright / hi / hello)
You alright? (question: answer - good thanks, you?)

“Awright?”
”Yes, you?”
”Not so bad” (or you could say “Up and down like Tower Bridge).

It is a minefield actually, you can see even on this thread there isn't complete agreement. I think the issue with the 'yes thanks' response is that you don't ask after them in return, which could come across a bit rude (to Brits, as we are obsessed with manners). I think 'hi, how are you?' or 'yeah thanks, you?' are the safest responses, they'll work regardless. If the person was genuinely asking how you are (if you're alright), they'd respond to 'hi how are you?', by saying 'yeah good thanks, how are you?', they won't make it awkward by saying oh I meant are you okay?

Personally, if someone said that to me in greeting I would take it to just mean 'hi'

You alright? <concerned face and soft, worried voice>

Yes, I'm fine, thanks <smile>

You alright? <chirpy voice and attitude>

'Yeah, fine' <nod of head> 'You good?'

Well, that's London Alrights, anyhow.

Round here the best response to 'alright?' is ''alright" 😄. I'm in the south.

My northern partner's response is always 'yes, you?' Even if both parties have already done the 'alright' dance. 😄😄😄

To add to the confusion.

The colloquialism round here is
‘y’rate’

yeah, you?

for both 😆