@zeh Yeah my theory is that it's a follow-up on "tudo bem?" (and the American "how are you?") that basically means "hi" with no real expectation of a genuine answer

@zeh Btw, ask a German any of that and you either get a blank stare (acquaintance or unknown people) or a fully detailed answer (friends and family). We take those at face value and either think "bit of a private question don't ya think" (former) or that the person is genuinely interested in how you've been and whether or not you've been busy (latter) 😅

@claus I can empathize - I grew up with a very literal mind. Always took me a while to realize the actual meaning of small talk like that, and other similar situations.