“What’s up?” is one of those English phrases that is considered to be slang, but is used by almost everybody. You hear it all the time in English speaking media.

There used to be an old beer commercial in the United States where two men who are friends talk to each other on the phone while drinking beer and watching American football. A new person walks into one of the speaker’s rooms and says “what’s up” in an exaggerated way to make it sound like “wazzup?” Each of the men start taking turns repeating this phrase while new men join in. This commercial was incredibly popular during its time because many people thought it was funny. Many movies and television shows featured their characters saying the phrase “wazzup?” like in the commercial.

Even though “what’s up” is a very common phrase, many English learners make the mistake of thinking it means the same thing as “how are you?” I can’t tell you how many times a student has answered me with “good” or “fine” when I ask them “what’s up?” These phrases are used differently.

“What’s up” has about four basic meanings.

Meaning 1: “What are you doing?”

Most of the time, an English speaker wants to know what you are doing when they ask you this question. Your response should tell your conversation partner what you are doing, not how you are. If you are reading a book, you can say “I’m reading.” If you are listening to music, you can say “I am listening to music.” If you are doing nothing, you can respond with “nothing much.”

Meaning 2: “Hello”

Sometimes English speakers use “what’s up” as a greeting like hello. When two friends at university pass by each other in a rush, they might say “what’s up” as a greeting without expecting a real answer to the question.

Meaning 3: “What’s the matter with _______?”

The phrase “what’s up with you” or just “what’s up” might be asked if you seem sad or a little different than normal. You can also ask “what’s up with” other nouns if something seems wrong. For example, if the landlord of your apartment raises the rent, you might complain to your neighbor by asking “what’s up with the increase in rent?”

Meaning 4: “How may I help you?”

This one is very situation specific. If you ask a native English speaker something like, “is it okay if I ask you a question” or “can you do me a favor”, they might respond with “yeah, what’s up?” This is a way of saying yes, then asking you for more information.

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While I’m not a fan of the beer, I have to share the commercial I talked about with you. I bet you will notice movies and TV shows making jokes about this now that you know it. Here’s the video:

English Slang Fun Fact

Did you know that wazzup is not the only different way of saying “what’s up?” You can also say it as:

• What up?
• Whaddup?
• ‘Sup

These phrases are even less formal than “what’s up?” If you are interviewing for a job or in a professional place, you shouldn’t use these phrases. However, if you’re among friends, feel free to try them out!