Important information before even starting to learn how to ask How are you in French: French language uses the verb aller (to go) to express how one is doing.
So you mustn’t say in French: “Comment tu es ?” or “Comment vous êtes ?” as a direct translation from English.
Questions possibles – How to ask “How are you?” in French
The most common question is:
| 🎧 | 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English |
|---|---|---|
| Ça va ? | Literal translation: Is it going? Meaning: Is everything ok? |
But there are different ways of asking someone how one is doing, depending on:
- the kind of question you are using (est-ce que, rising tone or inversion subject-verb)
- using tu or vous to talk to the person
Comment tu vas/vous allez ? (question personnelle) – How are you? (personal question)
How are you in French using “tu”:
| 🎧 | 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English |
|---|---|---|
| Comment tu vas ? | How are you? (informal) | |
| Tu vas comment ? | How are you? (informal) | |
| Comment est-ce que tu vas ? | How are you? (informal) | |
| Comment vas-tu ? | How are you? (informal) |
How are you in French using “vous”:
| 🎧 | 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English |
|---|---|---|
| Comment vous allez ? | How are you? (formal) | |
| Vous allez comment ? | How are you? (formal) | |
| Comment est-ce que vous allez ? | How are you? (formal) | |
| Comment allez-vous ? | How are you? (formal) |
Comment ça va ? (en général) – How is it going? (in general)
| 🎧 | 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English |
|---|---|---|
| Comment ça va ? | How is it going? | |
| Comment est-ce que ça va ? | How is it going? | |
| Ça va comment ? | How is it going? |
Réponses possibles – Possible answers to how are you in French
“Ça roule ma poule !”
🇫🇷 “Ça roule ma poule” est une façon familière et amusante de demander ou répondre que tout va bien.
Cette expression se rapproche des expressions en anglais : “That works for me!”, “Sure thing!” or “No worries!”
🇬🇧 “Ça roule ma poule” is a familiar and amusing way of asking or answering that everything is fine.
This expression is similar to “That works for me!”, “Sure thing!” or “No worries!”.
| 🎧 | 🇫🇷 French | 🇬🇧 English |
|---|---|---|
| Ça va ! | OK! / Fine! | |
| Je vais bien, merci. | I’m fine, thanks. | |
| Pas mal ! | Not bad! | |
| Bien. | Well. | |
| Très bien. | Very well. | |
| Pas top ! (informal) | Not great! | |
| Pas génial ! (informal) | Not great! | |
| Pas super ! (informal) | Not great! | |
| Ça roule ! (informal) | It is going well! | |
| Et toi ? | What about you? (informal) | |
| Et vous ? | What about you? (formal) |
