Henry'What's up?' appears to be quite commonly used as a greeting among friends and colleagues by the Americans I have worked with. It sounds strange to my (elderly) British ears. Very informal and used, I think, mostly by younger people. I've never used it this way.
To me 'What's up?' means 'What is going on/what has been going on?/what's the problem?' I hear this, and occasionally use it, in this sense.
To me "How's it going" is different to "What's up". "What's up" suggests to me "What's wrong/what's the problem?" "How's it going, by contrast, means "How are you/How are things in your life? It's the same in French "Comment ça va?", which is very common, is a direct translation of "How's it going?"It's been parodied in some commercials, as "Waaaazzzzzzuuppp?"
How do your elderly ear feel about "How's it going?"
For what it's worth, I see these two expressions as pretty much identical.
Happy New Y....I meant that "What's up?" and 'How's it going?" are more or less the same, and neither really expect an answer.
I feel the same difference as bhai, and I also feel that both require an answer. I used to be somewhat surprised when Americans would say one of those two to me, and then walk on without waiting for a response.
I also saw my typo, and didn't mean to imply that 5jj and Van Gogh had anything in common regarding the number of ears they possess.
NOT A TEACHER
(1) What have you been up to?
(2) What's up?
I experienced exactly the same feeling when I was asked by a fellow colleague like 'Hello. How are you?' and as I opened my mouth to reply 'I am fine. How are you?', he just slid away. At the other hand I have other mates who would expect an answer from me in this situation.I feel the same difference as bhai, and I also feel that both require an answer. I used to be somewhat surprised when Americans would say one of those two to me, and then walk on without waiting for a response.
I experienced exactly the same feeling when I was asked by a fellow colleague like 'Hello. How are you?' and as I opened my mouth to reply 'I am fine. How are you?', he just slid away. At the other hand I have other mates who would expect an answer from me in this situation.
So, I feel like sometimes you just go 'What's up? -What's up? Transmission. No regret.' while the other time when you are speaking to a person who really cares about your matters you are supposed to give some information about this.
Happy New Year!