“How are you?” in Kyrgyz is кандайсыз? — the polite form; among friends people say кандайсың? Another common option is жакшысызбы?, literally “are you well?”. The reply is short: жакшы, рахмат — “fine, thanks”.
The root кандай means “how, what kind”, and -сыз/-сың are the same politeness endings as in the greeting. If you hear -сыз, you are being addressed politely. After answering it is normal to return the question: өзүңүзчү? — “and you?”.
Жакшы, рахмат! — “fine, thanks”. A colloquial option is сонун! (“great!”). Then return the question: өзүңүзчү?
The politeness ending: -сыз is the polite “you” (elders, strangers, formal settings), -сың is familiar.
Жакшысызбы? — literally “are you well?”. Equally polite and very common.
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