How we say hello (How do you?)
So I have had the privilege of living in this country (Costa Rica) for a few months now and have enjoyed learning a wide variety of local words. What I really enjoy is the way people greet one another. I hadn't learned these greetings in any class so I was wondering how common they are.
Please add examples of what you have heard or hear where you have been or where you live.
Participants A, B and C
A y B: Buenas.
C: ¿Cómo amanecieron?
B: Bien. Pura vida.
A: Pura vida. ¿Todo bien? ¿Qué me dice?
C: Bien por dicha.
B: Nos vemos maes. Pura vida.
Yes they use 'pura vida' that often...
9 Answers
Just a bit of trivia here. In the Philippines we usually just say "hello" because there is no exact translation for it. However, if we must use our own language, we say "kamusta ka?", which translates to "how are you?" Notice the word "kamusta". It came from the Spanish "cómo está". In fact they would sound almost the same. The "ka" stands for "you", but people would normally simply say "kamusta?" because the subject is understood. Grammatically though it would be incorrect in Spanish because that should be "¿Cómo estás?", but we never say "kamustas?", only "kamusta?".
I Mexico I heard a lot of
¿Dormiste bien? (Did you sleep well?)
¡Buen provecho! (Enjoy!)
¡Vale! (Okay!)
This country is rich in local vocabulary.
One VERY common phrase I forgot to add to my conversation was ¿Cómo le va? Is that common in other areas? I say it at least 10 to 15 times a day.
Mae or alternatively maje is, as far as I know, a corruption of English 'mate' or is at least very similar. It's used in all the same ways (as I recall from my trip to sunny, sunny England last year). Some 'pachucos' as the teenagers are affectionately called can't go one sentence without using either pura vida or mae.
Another thing you hear a lot that I forgot to include in my conversation is tuanis.
A: Pura vida mae, ¿Cómo le va? B: Tuanis. A: ¡Qué dicha!
Tuanis is a corruption of English 'Too nice!'
or a respectful way to greet an old person on the street:
A: Upe. (in a loud comical way, shortened from the 'virgin of Guadeloupe') B: Hola muchacho.
I think I overheard this exact conversation at restaurant yesterday.
Of course pura vida (pure life) is a very special term used by all people young and old. It is essentially a greeting and reminder that life is a pure experience in Costa Rica: one is surrounded by natural beauty, strong family values and an extremely easy-going-let's-just-pick-mangoes-today mentality.
Another question: Do other people say Mejenguear as a verb to say 'to play soccer'? Ejemplo: Mejenguamos hoy
Hola,
En Colombia algunas personas dicen "qué ha habido". Cuando de dice rápido suena como "queabido". Se usa para preguntar qué ha pasado con la persona... No sé si se use otra parte.
Funny examples
This conversation would get weird looks over here, can be understood only by context.
I am bolding the "weird parts"
A y B: Buenas.
C: ¿Cómo amenecieron?
B: Bien. Pura vida.
A: Pura vida. ¿Todo bien? ¿Qué me dice?
C: Bien por dicha.
B: Nos vemos maes. Pura vida.
What is this pura vida all about?
Puravidacanu,
¿Qué es la palabra "maes"? Soy con Heidita, ¿qué es este "pura vida"? (I like to practice my spanish through writing, I hope I didn't butcher it too much). 
¡Pura Vida! Pure LIFE baby. ¡Es lo que todos queremos encontrar!
I was told pura vida is a costa rican (tico) only thing, I've never heard it anywhere else and was told I'd sound crazy if I tried.
Mae or alternatively maje is, as far as I know, a corruption of English 'mate' or is at least very similar.
Mae is short for maje, which yes means mate, or man, kinda like for example:
Hola mae como esta - Hi man, how are you?
extremely easy-going-let's-just-pick-mangoes-today mentality.
Haha, that's also called Tico-time by the fast paced gringos.
hola, como esta
