How are you in French (and how to answer)

How are you in French? With someone you address as vous, ask comment allez-vous. With a friend, ask comment vas-tu or just ça va. This page shows which one fits, how to answer, and how to ask back. To open the conversation first, see Hello in French. For more everyday lines, see Common French phrases. To end it, see Goodbye in French.

How do you say how are you in French?

The short answer is that French has a formal way and an easy way. Both use the verb aller, “to go”, not “to be”. Larousse gives the example Comment allez-vous ? for asking about someone’s health [1].

The vous and tu rows follow a rule from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF): vous goes with politeness and social hierarchy, and tu with closeness and less formal settings [2]. Pick the pronoun first, then the phrase.

What is the ça va meaning?

Ça va (often typed “ca va”) means “it goes”, and it is the everyday way to ask how things are. Larousse lists Ça va ? Ça va bien ? Comment ça va ? together as a greeting formula, a way of making contact, and glosses them as “is everything going well?” and comment allez-vous [3]. So ça va is both a question and a reply: only your tone changes.

The same words answer the question. Ça va in reply means “fine”. Because it asks and answers in one go, it often works as a hello more than a real enquiry.

What is ca va in French, and how is it different from comment ça va?

Comment ça va ? is the longer form of ça va ?, and Larousse lists both as the same kind of greeting [3]. Use the longer form when you want to sound a little more attentive. A bilingual Larousse entry translates “and how are the children?” as et les enfants, comment ça va ? [4]. Use the short form when you pass someone you know.

How do you ask how are u in French with friends?

People who type “how are u French” want the casual version, which uses tu. Say comment vas-tu or tu vas bien to a friend, or ça va if you are in a hurry.

For “what’s up”, say quoi de neuf. Larousse notes that quoi de neuf was once thought familiar and has since passed into common usage, while careful speech and writing prefer quoi de nouveau [5]. Its bilingual entry gives salut, alors quoi de neuf ? as “hi, what have you been up to” [6]. Say salut first, then the question.

Should you use tu or vous when you ask?

Use vous with someone you meet for the first time, a superior or an older person. The OQLF lists these as the people one generally addresses with vous [2]. It adds that for a first meeting it is more prudent to use vous until the question is raised, since the move from vous to tu marks how a relationship has changed [2].

That makes comment allez-vous the safe opener when you are unsure. Once the other person says on peut se tutoyer or starts using tu, switch to comment vas-tu or ça va.

How do you answer how are you in French?

Answer in the same register as the question, then ask back. The simplest reply is ça va, then et toi ? with a friend or et vous ? with someone you address as vous. Très bien, merci is a polite reply. Here is a range, from happiest to least, with Larousse’s note on the middle one [3].

Common mistakes

• Using “ça va” with a stranger you want to impress. Move to comment allez-vous, or follow the OQLF’s advice and stay with vous until the other person raises the question [2].
• Saying “je suis bien” for “I am well”. Aller carries the idea of health, so reach for je vais bien or ça va. Larousse shows Comment allez-vous ? with the verb aller [1].
• Writing “sa va”. The word is ça, as Larousse writes it in Ça va ? [3].
• Answering a long story to ça va. Often the reply is just ça va, then et toi ?.
• Dropping tu on someone older without a cue. The OQLF lists older people as people one generally addresses with vous [2].
• Trusting a phrase list from a blog, including this one. The official pages change. Check each page’s own date against ours at the top.

See also: please and sorry in French.

See also: feelings in French.

Sources