Сколько лет, сколько зим! Как жизнь? Что нового?

Yes. It is a fixed idiomatic greeting used when you meet someone after a long time.

Literally, it looks like How many years, how many winters!, but you should learn it as one whole expression, not word by word.

It sounds warm, expressive, and slightly colorful. In many situations, Long time no see! is the best English equivalent.

Because after сколько, Russian normally uses the genitive plural.

• год → genitive plural лет
• зима → genitive plural зим

So grammatically, both noun forms are expected after сколько.

Also, Сколько лет, сколько зим! is a set phrase, so native speakers do not usually think about its grammar every time they say it.

People still say it, and it is perfectly understandable and natural.

That said, it has a slightly traditional or colorful feel compared with very plain modern greetings. It sounds friendly and expressive, not strange or outdated.

You will hear it especially:

• when people unexpectedly run into each other
• when friends or acquaintances reconnect
• in speech, messages, or social media comments

Russian often leaves out words that are understood from context, especially in casual conversation.

Как жизнь? is an elliptical expression. The idea is something like:

• Как жизнь [идёт]?
• Как [у тебя] жизнь?

But in real speech, the shorter version is very common and natural.

English does this too in some expressions:

• How’s life?
• Everything okay?

So the missing verb is not a mistake; it is just normal colloquial Russian.

They are close, but not identical in tone.

• Как дела? = the most common general How are things?
• Как жизнь? = How’s life?, a bit more personal, broader, or more conversational

Как жизнь? can sound slightly more expressive, sometimes even playful.
Как дела? is more neutral and probably more common overall.

Here нового is the genitive singular neuter form of новый.

This is a common Russian pattern after words like:

• что
• ничего
• что-нибудь
• много
• мало

For example:

• Что интересного? = What interesting things?
• Ничего нового. = Nothing new.
• Что хорошего? = What’s good/new?

So Что нового? literally works like What new thing(s)?, with the noun left unstated.

Yes, in a sense. Russian often omits the noun when the adjective makes the meaning clear.

In Что нового?, the missing idea could be something like:

• что нового [произошло]?
• что нового [есть]?
• что нового [у тебя]?

You do not need to supply a noun when speaking. Что нового? is already complete and natural.

Absolutely.

• Что нового? = What’s new?
• Что у тебя нового? = What’s new with you?
• Что у вас нового? = What’s new with you? (polite/plural)

Adding у тебя or у вас makes it more specific. Without it, the phrase is still very common and usually understood from context.

They are mostly informal or semi-informal.

• Сколько лет, сколько зим! is friendly and personal.
• Как жизнь? is conversational.
• Что нового? is also conversational, though it can be used pretty widely.

They are best with:

• friends
• classmates
• coworkers you know reasonably well
• relatives
• acquaintances you are on friendly terms with

For more formal situations, you would usually choose something more neutral, such as:

• Как поживаете?
• Как ваши дела?
• Что у вас нового?

The main stresses are:

• Ско́лько лет, ско́лько зим!
• Как жизнь?
• Что но́вого?

A few pronunciation notes:

• сколько has stress on the first syllable: СКОлько
• жизнь ends in a soft нь
• нового is stressed on the first syllable: НОвого

In speech, the first phrase usually has lively, excited intonation because it is an exclamation. The next two are real questions, so the voice rises in a more questioning way.

Yes. Сколько лет, сколько зим! Как жизнь? Что нового? sounds natural as a friendly sequence:

1. warm recognition after a long time
2. a general check-in
3. a request for updates

It feels very conversational, like:

• Long time no see! How’s life? What’s new?

So this combination is completely normal and useful to remember as a natural mini-dialogue opener.