# how goes it

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/how-goes-it
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

An informal greeting roughly equivalent to how are you.

## Examples

- Hey, how goes it today?
- How goes it with your new project at work?
- I ran into an old friend at the grocery store and asked him how goes it.
- When you walk into the office on Monday morning, it is common for your coworkers to smile and ask how goes it.
- After months of silence, he sent a brief message asking how goes it with my new life abroad.

## Origin

The phrase appears as a regular Early Modern English equivalent of "how’s it going," originating at a time when neither progressive tenses nor do-support were obligatory in the language. While the construction could have survived into the present through regional dialects, modern usage is considered likely to be a calque of the German *wie geht es*. The expression may additionally draw from the Dutch *hoe gaat het* or the Danish *hvordan går det*. Though the specific path of its re-entry into standard English remains unproven, it mirrors a variety of Germanic forms that treat one's well-being as a matter of how things are currently proceeding. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.