How are you? Fine.

Comment allez-vous ? French pleasantries
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Comment allez-vous ? Bien.

Before you dive into a conversation, it’s nice to exchange a few pleasantries. Greetings are first, of course, and then if you know the person, it’s typical to ask how they are. There are a number of different French expressions, depending on your relationship with the people you’re talking to and how many there are.

How are you?

There are various ways to ask the basic question "How are you?" depending on the person(s) you’re addressing. (See Tu vs vous for more info.)

How are you? (one or more people you use vous with)

How are you? (more than one person you use tu with)

How are you? (one person you use tu with)

How’s it going? What’s new? (informal)

What’s up? (familiar)

  • Ça baigne ?
  • Ça bouge ?
  • Ça gaze ?
  • Ça roule ?
  • Ça av ? (verlan)

I’m fine

Depending on the situation, you can offer a real answer (with friends, you might talk about feelings, work, family, travel, etc.), but most of the time, you’ll just want to respond with a French equivalent of "fine":

 You can also tack et toi ? (and you?) on the end. In fact, sometimes friends will just respond et toi ? without actually answering the original query.

 Related features

French for beginners French for beginners

Self-study checklist with lessons, quizzes, and comprehension exercises.
 

Learn Spanish En español

Learn Italian In italiano

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Comment allez-vous ?

Questions about French?

 Visit the Progress with Lawless French Q+A forum to get help from native French speakers and fellow learners.

More Lawless French

 Subscribe to my twice-weekly newsletter.

Support Lawless French

  This free website is created with love and a great deal of work.

If you love it, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation.

Your support is entirely optional but tremendously appreciated.

Leave a Reply