formality issues regarding the 「調子はどうだい？」 greeting (1) ”?” and "" are pretty much equivalent in _meaning_ and _formality_ , right? The ”?” being a little feminine because of the ""? And, "" is rarely / never used by native speakers? I don't think I've ever heard it used. (2) "" is just an informal way to say "", right? (3) Can I up the formality of ? Perhaps: "" "" // <\--- best? "" "" (4) When I am greeting someone in a business setting, can I pop-off a: "" and not have the native speaker think that I sound weird? Rather, I'd want him/her to think I sound _different_ , but not _weird_. thanks.

I would say that the polite version of would be

> ?

but is usually reserved for written correspondence. Inquiring about someone's health (e.g. "How are you?") is not really used as a formal greeting in Japanese. Unless you know someone is recovering from an illness, in which case one could ask

> ?

P.S. ? does sound weird, not just different.