From formal to slang, learn many ways of asking & answering how are you in French. Play the audio to memorize the correct French pronunciation + cultural tips. Show
Politeness is an important part of everyday interactions. Understanding the many different ways of saying how are you in French, and what is culturally expected of you will certainly be useful. This free French lesson – like many on French Today’s blog – features audio recordings. Click on the link next to the headphones to hear the French pronunciation. When Do We Ask How Are You in France?I’d like to start this free lesson with a cultural point. I lived in the US for 17 years. Over there, when entering a shop, or even at a cash register, it is not unusual for the attendant to ask ‘how are you today’ to their customers. This is not at all the case in France. In France, if you asked ‘how are you’ to a person you don’t know, they would be extremely surprised. We typically only ask ‘how are you’ to people we are acquainted with. Now let’s see the different ways of asking ‘how are you’ in French. 5 Classical Ways To Ask How Are You in FrenchComment allez-vous ?“Comment Allez-vous” is a very common way to ask ‘how are you’ in French. It’s also what you are likely to have learned in school. It uses the vous form, so could be used with a person you are being formal with, or a group of people. Watch out for the strong liaison between the final “t” of “comment” and the “a” of “allez”. Comment vas-tu ?Asking “Comment vas-tu ?” is also very common in France nowadays. It uses the same question form as “comment allez-vous”, called inversion in French, but at the “tu” form. So, the language register is still quite formal, even though you are using “tu”. Comment ça-va ?“Comment ça-va ?” is in the same line, using inversion. This is a more general way of saying ‘how are you’ in French. More like ‘how are things’ rather than ‘how are you’. Ça va ?“Ça va ?” is the short form of “comment ça-va”. The “comment” is implied. “Ça va ?” is convenient because it can be used as a question and as an answer: you just change the tone for the answer: “Ça va ?”. The language register is casual. I’d say the English equivalent would be “you’re OK?”. Note: we use “Ça va ?” also when we suspect someone can be physically or emotionally distressed. So, to check on someone. What does “sa va” mean in French?Used in texting to avoid the typing the inconvenient ‘ç’, “sa va” is making an appearance on the French language world. It may be OK if you’re texting or a French teen… Otherwise, I strongly suggest you stay away from it. In my humble opinion, it’s still better to type “ca va” than “sa va”… This info may be useful to you. How to type a “c with cedilla” ç?
Care to add more? Leave me a comment and I’ll add it to the article. À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. More Details & Audio Samples 11 Ways of Asking “How Is X Doing” In FrenchIf you didn’t want to ask specifically ‘how are YOU’ but rather ‘how is she’, ‘how are they’ etc… you’d have to be careful to use the verb “aller” in French. Watch Out! Use Aller, Not Être With These “How Are You” in French.With the expressions above, we don’t use the verb to be in French. We use to go: “aller”. So whether you’re asking ‘how are you’ or ‘how are they’, you’re going to be using one conjugation of aller. In the present indicative: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. And apply the rules of inversion.
How To Say ‘How Are Things ?’ in FrenchThis may come as a surprise to some students of French, but you can also use these constructions to ask ‘how are things’ in French… So you could ask about impersonal things like work, or a part of your body that was hurting…
And then of course, we have expressions which may not use “aller”. 4 Expressions To Say ‘How Are You’ in FrenchThere are many expressions to ask ‘how are you in French’. You need to understand them, but I’d be careful about using them… Expressions are more or less trendy. My Dad may ask “ça gaze ?” and you may hear it in a movie from the seventies… It’s only used today in a sort of tongue in cheek way. Pretty much all these expression belong the the casual slang register an mean are things OK? They can be used as a question and an answer.
Often instead of using “ça”, we’d use “tout” : “tout roule”, “tout baigne”… ? Alors si tout
roule, on continue… 11 Ways of Asking ‘How Are You Doing’ in FrenchIt’s very common nowadays to ask ‘how are you doing’ using… well, an answer really… Sort of asking ‘you’re OK?’ instead of ‘are you OK?’. But in French, we take it to the next step… If you’ve studied how to ask questions in French, you know it’s very common in modern spoken French to just end a statement with a question tone, hence transforming this statement as a question. Well, we do that a lot in the context of asking ‘how are you’ in French. Here are a few common examples – they don’t translate exactly as ‘how are you’ but convey the same feeling, and may be used instead of ‘how are you’ in France.
If you wanted to check on somebody’s health or state of mine, you could ask:
More about being sick in France. Now let’s see a neat expression to ask “what’s up” in French.  How to Say “What’s Up” in French?To ask ‘what’s up?’ in French we say “Quoi de neuf”. Make sure you play the audio to listen to the glided pronunciation. This is obviously colloquial, and we use it a lot nowadays. Now let’s see how to reply to ‘how are you’ in French Answering ‘How Are You’ in FrenchThere are so many ways to answer ‘how are you in French’… I’ll just make a list of common examples! But the most important thing I’d like to tell you: don’t be passive!! Return the question! Someone asking ‘how are you’ expects a ‘how are you’ back!!Can you imagine a situation when you ask someone ‘how are you’ and s/he answers ‘great’ and doesn’t ask you how you are? How rude!! Unfortunately, students of French are so accustomed to being ‘fed’ all the questions that they don’t usually ask questions themselves… And their fear of speaking French maybe be seen as being rude. So, when asking ‘how are you’ in France, start with a quick round of “ça va”… just to make sure everybody is OK. Then, engage the conversation more specifically – ask how something specific is doing “et ta fille, ça va mieux ?” (is your daughter doing better). You may at this point be interested in my article on French conversation starters. 13 Ways to answer ‘how are you’ in French
Then you may want to hint in your answer that you’d like to share more… That you have something on your mind… Wether it’s negative or positive, these answer would prompt your interlocutor to ask for more.
If someone says that to you, you’re suppose to ask for more. You need to go beyond ‘how are you’. Beyond ‘how are you’To ask someone to explain why they are doing poorly or great, we have one very useful expression. Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? Make sure you play the audio since that one is pretty glided in modern spoken French. The best way to learn all these nuances and expressions is to learn them within the context of a realistic story. If you enjoy learning French language and culture in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided French pronunciation. I post new articles every week, so make sure you subscribe to the French Today newsletter – or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Please react! Leave a comment, make a suggestion, share this article… Your engagement really encourages me to create more free French lessons! How do you respond to Como Sava?As this greeting is an informal way of asking “how are you?” you should use it with friends. The quickest response to “Comment ça va?” is “Ça va bien, et toi?” (“It's going well, how about you?”).
What is Como Sava?Como sa va is French for How are you, or, How is it going.
How are you French ca va?10 Ways to Say “How Are You?” in French (+ 10 Ways to Respond). Comment allez-vous ? – “How are you?” ... . Comment ça va ? – “How's it going?” ... . Vous allez bien ? – “Are you well?” ... . Ça va ? – “How's it going?” ... . Comment vous sentez-vous ? – “How are you feeling?” ... . Quoi de neuf ? – “What's new?” ... . Ça gaze ? ... . Quoi de beau ?. What are 5 ways to say hello French?5 Most common ways to say hello in French. Bonjour (hello, good morning). Salut! (Hi!). Bonsoir (Good evening). Coucou! ( Hi! informal). Allô (Hello, used on the phone). |
How do u say how are you in french
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