Like most slang, the phrase “what’s good?” can mean several things depending on how it is used.
In its most basic form, “what’s good? simply means, “what’s up?
If someone asks you “what’s good?”, they usually expect you to tell them what you’re doing and/or how you’re doing.
Basically, it is just another way of asking for an update on your life.
However, “what’s good?” can also have a confrontational undertone or be outright aggressive.
For example, if someone heard that you were talking about them behind their back, they might ask you “what’s good?”
In this case, they would be asking for an explanation of your behavior, and the phrase is pretty much interchangeable with “what’s your problem?”
Here are a variety of ways you could respond to “what’s good?”
23 ways to respond to “what’s good?”
- The usual. You up to anything good?
- Not too much, chilling at home. You?
- Not a lot. Was hoping we could get together later?
- Hey! Not much at all. How has your week been?
- Can’t complain! Happy weekend, by the way. Looking forward to tonight!
- Smiling because I got a message from you. How’s it going?
- Oh, nothing much, just swiping through apps looking for the love of my life.
- Well, for starters, your second picture is definitely very good.
- Not that opener. I’ll give you a do-over.
- About this app? Nothing. Change my mind?
- At my favorite restaurant? The surf and turf. Wanna go?
- Not a lot right now. Wanna change that?
- Not much, just watching TV. You?
- My mood now that you’ve messaged. How’s things?
- Just starting a great convo. You?
- Hi. I’m actually very busy! Got to get back to work.
- Lots! Jam-packed schedule so I can’t really talk.
- Hi, I’d rather we didn’t text casually. Let’s just keep our communication to the official channels.
- Hi, it’s nice of you to reach out, but I’m not really a texter. I’ll see you around sometime.
- Hi. If you have a problem with me, let’s talk through it maturely.
- I feel like things have been tense between us and I don’t want to have an argument. Can we talk through things?
- What do you mean?
- Hey. Is there a problem?
How to respond to “what’s good?” from a guy
If a guy wants to talk to you, he may decide to test the waters first before diving in with more substantive questions. By asking “what’s good?” he is sending you a signal that he would be interested in having a conversation.
You can essentially think about responding to “what’s good?” the same way you would think about responding to “How’s your day?”
If you want to encourage him to keep talking, make sure you let him know that you are happy to hear from him, and ask him a question in return.
Here are few ways to respond to a guy if you want to keep the conversation going.
1. The usual, just at work. You up to anything good?
Keeping things casual over text is never a bad idea, especially in the early stages of a romantic relationship.
There is no need to jump the gun and seem overexcited when a guy you like texts you.
Instead, play it cool by answering their question in an easy-going way.
Then ask them a question in return so that they have a reason to respond.
2. Not too much, chilling at home. You?
When someone texts “what’s good?”, it is often a good idea not to respond too enthusiastically, especially if you do not know them that well.
Instead, keep the enthusiasm for later on in the conversation.
In order to ensure the conversation continues for long enough for you to exude organic enthusiasm, ask the guy you’re texting a question in return.
This will give him a reason to respond and will ensure the chat continues.
3. Not a lot. Was hoping we could get together later?
If you’ve been talking to a guy for a little while, you can respond to “what’s good?” in a more direct fashion.
If you’re bored and don’t have plans for the evening, don’t hesitate to suggest getting together!
After all, the reason he has reached out is probably because he wants to see you, so he will surely be glad to see a message from you suggesting meeting up.
4. Hey! Not much at all. How’s your week been?
This is another good way to respond to “what’s up?” from a guy when you’re trying to play it cool.
Responding with an enthusiastic greeting sends the message that you are glad to hear from him without you having to spell it out.
Asking him how his week has been shows that you are interested in his life and want to know how he has been spending his time.
5. Can’t complain! Happy weekend, by the way. Looking forward to tonight! You?
If a guy asks you “what’s good?” and you have already made plans to see him that night, why not express excitement about your date.
Tell him you’re looking forward to it!
He will be happy to hear that you are excited to see him.
Asking him how things are going with him will give him a reason to respond. He will likely let you know that he is also excited.
Also, wishing someone a happy weekend never goes amiss!
6. Smiling because I got a message from you. How’s it going?
If you want to send a bold response when a guy texts you “what’s good?” you can tell him that you are smiling because he messaged you.
Then follow up this cute remark by asking him how things are going for him.
By introducing a flirty tone to the conversation, you are letting the guy you’re texting know that you’re interested and that you are happy to keep the bantering tone of the chat going.
If the guy you’re texting sends you a “what’s good?” text in the morning, you can also respond with one of these thoughtful, funny and simple ways to say good morning.
How to respond to “what’s good?” on Tinder
A woman’s perspective on using Tinder involves receiving a lot of short opening messages.
Tinder is one of the most common platforms on which to receive a message from a guy asking, “what’s good?”
As boring as it might sound, most people tend to start conversations with a simple question.
After all, it is nerve-racking to message someone you don’t know, and in order to gauge a match’s interest, it is helpful to see how they respond to an easy-to-answer question.
Here are a few ways you might respond to a match who asks you “what’s good?”
7. Oh, nothing much, just swiping through apps looking for the love of my life.
Most people who have used dating apps complain about how dry the conversations can be.
To avoid this, try spicing things up right from the word go by making a funny joke about what it is you are doing.
A funny response that makes light of the fact that you are two strangers meeting each other via an app will let your match know that you have a good sense of humor.
This also opens the door to let them fire back and equally light-hearted response, which will ultimately help you avoid those dry, boring, getting-to-know-you chats.
8. Well, for starters, your second picture is definitely very good.
While “what’s good?” is really just slang for “what’s up?”, you can play on the literal meaning of good and tell them one of their profile pictures is good.
They will surely appreciate the compliment and will likely return it.
9. Not that opener. I’ll give you a do-over.
Another way to play on the literal meaning of “what’s good?” is to playfully criticize the way they started the conversation.
Jokingly letting them know that you expect a more interesting kind of conversation will surely inspire your match to try harder to impress you.
10. About this app? Nothing. Change my mind?
You could respond to “what’s good?” on Tinder by jokingly responding that there is nothing good about the app you’re both on, before then inviting your match to change your mind.
This challenge not only asks them to step up their game to try to impress you, but also shows that you have the ability to turn a boring question into an interesting conversation.
And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want that in a partner?
11. At my favorite restaurant? The surf and turf. Wanna go sometime?
This is a cute response that pivots from a generic opener to a dinner invitation.
While you’re not actively asking them out, you are showing your match a little bit of what life with you would be like.
Plus, who knows? If you really do get along, you may actually end up going to your favorite restaurant and the date will have a cute backstory.
12. Not a lot right now. Wanna change that?
Maybe there really isn’t much going on for you. You’re bored at home on your sofa, half-heartedly scrolling through Tinder.
If you’re feeling bored and bold and a match asks you “what’s good?” you can tell them you’re bored and ask them if they want to change that.
How they respond to this will tell you a lot about who they are and what their intentions are.
13. Not much, just watching TV. You?
You also don’t have to make any bold statements or invitations if a Tinder match asks you “what’s good?”
You can simply play it cool and put the ball back in their court.
Tell them what you are actually doing and then ask them what they are up to. If they are interested in you, they will answer you and then hopefully ask a more inspired follow-up question.
14. My mood now that you’ve messaged. How’s things?
This is a cute way to respond to “what’s good?” on Tinder. You’re letting your match know that they have put you in a good mood by reaching out.
This is a clear expression of interest that will indicate to your match that they have the green light to try to get to know you.
Finish your response by asking them how they are so that they can respond without having to put in too much effort.
15. Just starting a great convo. You?
If you want to keep the conversation going, you can use this response to let your match know that you would like this to be just the beginning of your chat.
This light-hearted but straightforward answer establishes that you don’t have to be too formal with each other, which is usually very much appreciated on dating apps.
How to respond to “what’s good?” if you want to end the conversation
Unfortunately, we don’t always want to speak to everyone who reaches out to us, whether in person or social media or text.
Every so often, someone we really don’t feel like engaging with will pop up in our notifications or approach us.
The best way to get out of a conversation when we don’t want to be in it is to be as clear as possible about the fact that we don’t want to keep talking.
16. Hi. I’m actually very busy! Got to get back to work.
Whether you are actually busy or not, claiming that you don’t have time to talk someone is always a good way to end a conversation.
You may well be busy. But there is also no harm in a white lie if it will spare someone’s feelings.
After all, it is kinder to say you are busy than to say, “I don’t like you and don’t want to talk to you.”
In any case, they will probably get the message that you aren’t too keen on chatting with them.
17. Lots! Jam-packed schedule so I can’t really talk.
This variation on responding to “what’s good?” by saying you are too busy to talk keeps things friendly by using an exclamation mark after the first word.
However, it then makes clear that you can’t talk.
Furthermore, by not suggesting an alternative time to talk, you’re letting the person you’re talking to know that you don’t actually want to speak to them.
18. Hi, I’d rather we didn’t text casually. Let’s just keep our communication to the official channels.
If someone messages you “what’s good?” and it feels inappropriate for them to be reaching out to you like this, for example if they are your boss or your superior at work, you can respond by setting clear boundaries.
Tell them you don’t want to text casually and suggest keeping communication to the official channels.
They will surely get the message and refrain from texting you again.
If they don’t, and you continue to feel uncomfortable, you can turn to HR at your work, or appeal to someone else who can help.
19. Hi, it’s nice of you to reach out, but I’m not really a texter. I’ll see you around sometime.
Another white lie that can be used to get out of texting conversations you don’t want to have, is that you don’t like texting.
Plenty of people prefer not to be on their phone too much and would rather keep text exchanges brief so that they can be present in the moment.
In any case, telling someone you “aren’t really a texter” makes clear that you would like to end the conversation.
Telling the person you’re speaking to that you’ll “see them around sometime” makes clear that you aren’t interested in making specific plans.
How to respond to “what’s good?” in a confrontation
Ah, confrontation. Some people avoid it like the plague, while others seem to magnetically attract it.
Whichever camp you fall into, it is never nice to receive an unfriendly or challenging text message.
In rare circumstances, someone might text you “what’s good?” as an expression of anger.
What they really mean is, “what’s your problem?”
If you know someone is angry with you, or if you are annoyed at someone and have been dodging their calls and ignoring their texts, they may reach out with a message that says, “what’s good?” in an attempt to get you to explain your behavior.
Here are some suggestions for how to respond when this difficult situation arises.
20. Hi. If you have a problem with me, let’s talk through it maturely.
If you know for certain that the person who texted you “what’s good?” means it in a confrontational way, then why not suggest talking through the problem maturely.
This response shows composure and respect and is the perfect way to let someone know that you want to work through things.
21. I feel like things have been tense between us and I don’t want to have an argument. Can we talk through things?
Another mature way to respond to a confrontational “what’s good?” message is to acknowledge that you feel things are going a bit sour.
Tell the person who has written to you that you don’t want to argue and that you would prefer to talk things through.
Once you have said this, the ball is in the other person’s court. Hopefully, they will choose to rise to your level and solve the dispute in a grown-up fashion.
22. What do you mean?
If someone texts you “what’s good?” in an apparently confrontational way and you aren’t sure what they are upset about, you can ask them what they mean.
This response will allow you to get to the bottom of what is happening before you decide how you want to react.
23. Hey. Is there a problem?
Another restrained way to respond to a confrontational message asking, “what’s good?” is to clarify whether there is in fact a problem.
Don’t rule out the possibility that you have misinterpreted the tone of the message.
After all, the person messaging you may just have wanted to know what you are up to.
By asking directly whether there is an issue, you are showing that you aren’t here for messing around and just want to get to the bottom of the matter.