# How Are You in French — Ça Va, Comment Allez-Vous, and How to Answer

> How are you? in French is **ça va ?** (sah VAH) in everyday life, and
> **comment allez-vous ?** (koh-mahn tah-lay VOO) when you need to be formal.
> The simplest answer is **ça va** — the same two words — and you finish with
> **et toi ?** or **et vous ?** ("and you?").

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Updated: 2026-08-27

## Every way to ask

| French | Pronunciation | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| ça va ? | sah VAH | how are you? — casual and universal, learn this one first |
| comment ça va ? | koh-mahn sah VAH | the same question, one notch more complete |
| comment allez-vous ? | koh-mahn tah-lay VOO | the formal one — strangers, officials, work |
| comment vas-tu ? | koh-mahn vah-TU | friendly, but a little bookish out loud |
| tu vas bien ? | tu vah BYAN | "are you doing OK?" — a warm check-in with a friend |
| vous allez bien ? | voo zah-lay BYAN | the same warmth, in the polite form |
| quoi de neuf ? | kwah duh NUHF | "what's new?" — friends you haven't seen in a while |
| ça roule ? | sah ROOL | "all good?" — very casual slang, friends only |

## Every way to answer

French answers are short. Nobody expects a report on your week — a couple of words and a
question back is the whole ritual.

| French | Pronunciation | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ça va | sah VAH | fine — the same two words that asked the question |
| ça va bien, merci | sah vah BYAN mehr-SEE | I'm well, thank you — polite and complete |
| très bien, et vous ? | treh BYAN ay VOO | very well, and you? — formal |
| très bien, et toi ? | treh BYAN ay TWAH | very well, and you? — to a friend |
| pas mal | pah MAHL | not bad |
| comme ci, comme ça | kum see kum SAH | so-so — famous abroad, less used in France |
| bof | bohf | meh — a shrug in one syllable |
| ça peut aller | sah puh tah-LAY | could be worse — honest without being gloomy |

Note on **comme ci, comme ça**: it is perfectly correct, but far more common in French
classrooms than on French pavements. Natives reach for *bof*, *pas mal* or *ça peut aller*.

## The quiet magic of ça va

**ça va** appears in both tables. The same two words are the question *and* the answer — only
the tune of your voice changes, up at the end to ask, flat to reply. A complete, natural
French exchange can be four words long:

    — Ça va ?
    — Ça va !

Literally, *ça va* means something like "it goes": *ça* is "it", and *va* comes from *aller*,
"to go". French is not asking how you *are*, it is asking whether things are moving along —
which is why the honest middle answer *ça peut aller* ("it can go") sounds so natural.

## Tu or vous?

- **vous** — strangers, anyone noticeably older, shops, offices, any professional setting,
  and more than one person at once.
- **tu** — friends, family, classmates, children and animals.

If you can't decide, choose **vous**. Being slightly too polite in French is invisible; being
too familiar is not. If the other person wants to drop the formality they will say
*on peut se tutoyer* ("we can use *tu*"), and you can answer *oui, avec plaisir*.

## Always send it back

Whatever you answer, add **et toi ?** (ay TWAH) to a friend or **et vous ?** (ay VOO) to
anyone else. It means "and you?", it takes half a second, and French speakers expect it — an
answer without it can land as a full stop rather than a conversation.
*Ça va bien, merci, et vous ?* is a complete, polite, native-sounding turn.

## FAQ

**How do you respond to "ça va"?**
The simplest reply is ça va — the same two words that asked the question. Ça va bien, merci is
warmer, très bien is enthusiastic, pas mal means "not bad", and ça peut aller means "could be
worse". Whichever you choose, add et toi ? or et vous ? to send the question back.

**What is the formal way to say how are you in French?**
Comment allez-vous ? (koh-mahn tah-lay VOO). Use it with strangers, older people and anyone in
a professional setting — anyone you would address as vous. Vous allez bien ? is a slightly
warmer formal option that works just as well.

**What does ça va literally mean?**
Roughly "it goes". Ça means "it" or "that", and va comes from aller, "to go". So ça va ? is
closer to "is it going?" than to "how are you?", and the answer ça va simply means "it's going".

**Do French people really say comme ci comme ça?**
It is real French and everyone understands it, but learners say it far more often than French
people do. A native is more likely to answer bof, pas mal, or ça peut aller.

**What is the difference between "comment allez-vous" and "comment vas-tu"?**
Only who you are talking to. Comment allez-vous ? uses vous, so it is formal — or aimed at more
than one person. Comment vas-tu ? uses tu, for someone you know well, though in relaxed speech
most people simply say ça va ? or tu vas bien ?

## Related guides

- Hello in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/hello-in-french
- Thank you in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/thank-you-in-french
- Common French phrases: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/common-french-phrases
- All guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides