In case you’ve discovered say “whats up” in French, then you definately’re able to take the subsequent step in fundamental dialog with the phrase, “how are you?”
It looks like a easy query, however with the French language’s aptitude for formality, it’s necessary to know phrase the query based mostly on the particular person you’re speaking to and the character of the dialog. Select the fitting approach to phrase it, and also you’ll have extra management over how properly your query is acquired!
Under, we’ll go over alternative ways you possibly can say “how are you?” in French, in addition to replies you may give if somebody asks the query of you.
The best way to say “how are you” in French
These phrases can have you coated for many day by day interactions, whether or not they’re businesslike or informal.
In case you write any of those phrases, embody an area earlier than the query mark. In French, you will want to place an area earlier than sure punctuation, akin to query marks, exclamations factors, colons, and semicolons. This is named une espace insécable, or “a non-breaking house.”
Remark allez-vous ?
Many individuals who don’t converse French are nonetheless conversant in this phrase. It’s a typical approach to say “how are you?” that matches in all kinds of conditions. It’s additionally formal and well mannered, so it’s applicable to make use of with individuals you wish to be respectful towards, akin to a boss, an elder, or an authority determine.
Remark vas-tu ?
That is a casual model of remark allez-vous ?, ideally used to greet buddies, household, and other people you realize properly. You possibly can inform it’s casual as a result of, in French, tu is utilized in informal dialog whereas vous is primarily used with acquaintances or as an indication of respect
Remark ça va ?
That is one other casual approach to say “how are you?” that loosely interprets to “how’s it going?” Like with remark vas-tu ?, you must use this with individuals you already know properly.
You too can shorten this to simply ça va ?, which makes it much more casual. In case you say ça va ? you’ll seemingly not get an in depth reply, and the same old response to that is to simply say ça va (“it goes”) again. In case you really need somebody to inform you how they’re doing, use remark vas-tu ? as a substitute.
Vous allez bien ?
This formal phrase roughly interprets to “are you properly?” If you wish to ask this informally, you’d say tu vas bien ? as a substitute.
Remark vous sentez-vous ?
This implies “how are you feeling?” It’s a phrase that may be a sensible choice if you realize the particular person you’re speaking to was sick or scuffling with some concern. The casual model is remark tu te sens ?
Ça roule ?
If you’re speaking to somebody you’re shut with, you need to use this colloquial phrase which interprets actually to “it rolls?” It’s enjoyable, informal, and may also be used to ask how a particular job goes. Like with ça va ?, individuals typically reply to this by simply saying ça roule again.
The best way to reply to “how are you” in French
If you end up on the receiving finish of “how are you” in French, listed below are a number of replies you may give. One factor to bear in mind is that, in formal conditions, it’s customary to maintain your solutions optimistic. When talking informally, you might be extra candid together with your responses.
It’s additionally well mannered to ask the opposite particular person how they’re doing after you reply, should you haven’t carried out so already. You are able to do this by saying et vous ? (“And also you?”) in a proper state of affairs, or et toi ? in a casual one.
Formal
- Bien, merci = Good, thanks
- Très bien, merci = Excellent, thanks
- Je vais bien, merci = I’m doing properly, thanks
Casual
- Ça va = It goes
- Ça va bien = It goes properly
- Ça va très bien = It goes very properly
- Pas mal = Not unhealthy
- Comme ci, comme ça = So-so
- Pas horrible = Not nice
- Ça roule = It rolls
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