How To Say “How Are You?” In French (Comment Allez-Vous, Ça Va And More)

On my second day in France, I decided to be very formal and very adult. I walked into the office, smiled at my new colleague and said, in my best textbook voice: Comment allez-vous ? /kɔ.mɑ̃ ta.le vu/ — how are you? He smiled back, said Très bien, merci /tʁɛ bjɛ̃ mɛʁ.si/ — very well, thanks… and then just stared, waiting.

I froze. Nobody had trained me for the moment after the question. I’d memorised the fancy phrase, but not the part where he asked it back, or the casual version he used with others: Ça va ? /sa va/ — you good? For a week I survived by smiling and saying Oui ! to every emotional check-in, which is not ideal when someone tells you “Ça ne va pas trop en ce moment” and you accidentally agree.

This guide is here so you don’t become that yak. By the end, you’ll know how to ask “How are you?” in French formally and informally, how to actually answer like a human, and how to survive those rapid-fire office Ça va ? Ça va et toi ? exchanges without panic.

Quick Primer: Two Big Families Of “How Are You?”

The two main ways to ask “How are you?” in French are:

Comment allez-vous ? /kɔ.mɑ̃ ta.le vu/ — How are you? (polite / plural)
Ça va ? /sa va/ — How’s it going? / You good? (informal, super common)

Under those umbrellas you also get:

Comment ça va ? /kɔ.mɑ̃ sa va/ — How are things? (neutral)
Tu vas bien ? /ty va bjɛ̃/ — You okay? / You good? (informal)
Vous allez bien ? /vu za.le bjɛ̃/ — Are you well? (polite)

If you only remember two:

With strangers, teachers, or anyone you’d treat politely: Comment allez-vous ?
With friends, classmates and people your age: Ça va ?

Now let’s unpack how they actually work in real life.

Comment Allez-Vous: The Polite “How Are You?”

Comment allez-vous ? /kɔ.mɑ̃ ta.le vu/ — how are you? is the classic formal version.

French | IPA | English
Comment allez-vous ? | /kɔ.mɑ̃ ta.le vu/ | How are you? (polite / plural)

You use it:

With someone you don’t know well
With older people
In professional situations (doctor, teacher, boss you don’t hug)
When addressing more than one person (you all)

Typical exchanges:

Usage notes:

It sounds polite, a bit “grown-up,” and a little more formal than many French people use in everyday chat, but it’s never wrong.
You’ll hear it a lot in customer-facing speech, doctors’ offices, polite phone calls, and with older relatives you vous.

If you want a slightly lighter, still polite version:

French | IPA | English
Vous allez bien ? | /vu za.le bjɛ̃/ | Are you well?

This is friendlier, a bit less textbook than Comment allez-vous ?, but still perfectly polite.

Ça Va: The Informal, Everyday Workhorse

If Comment allez-vous ? is the tuxedo, Ça va ? /sa va/ — you okay? is the hoodie: simple, everywhere, very French.

French | IPA | English
Ça va ? | /sa va/ | How’s it going? / You good?

You’ll hear it:

Between friends and colleagues
In shops where the vibe is informal
Constantly, at all hours, often chained together like a mini-rap:
Ça va ? — Ça va, et toi ? — Ça va.

Variations:

Comment ça va ? can be used with tu or vous (tone does the work). Tu vas bien ? is clearly informal because of tu.

Usage notes:

With classmates or coworkers your age, Ça va ? is usually enough.
It can sound like a real question or just a ritual greeting, depending on tone.
You also use ça va to answer (more on that next).

How To Answer “How Are You?” In French (Beyond Just “Oui”)

The good news: you don’t need a huge phrase to answer. The bad news: people might keep asking follow-ups if you sound too tragic.

Common answers:

And to bounce the question back:

Example:

Ça va ?
/sa va/
How’s it going?

Ça va bien, merci, et toi ?
/sa va bjɛ̃ mɛʁ.si e twa/
I’m good, thanks, and you?

Usage tips:

If you don’t want people to worry, stick with Ça va, Ça va bien, or Très bien, merci.
Bof /bɔf/ adds a “meh” feeling; it’s honest but a bit gloomy.
Comme ci, comme ça is understood but feels a bit textbook-y; French speakers more often use bof, moyen /mwa.jɛ̃/ — so-so, or a sentence like Pas terrible /pa tɛ.ʁibl/ — not great.

Tu vs Vous Inside “How Are You?”

A big part of this question is hidden grammar: tu /ty/ vs vous /vu/.

tu — informal “you” (friends, family, kids, close colleagues)
vous — polite or plural “you” (strangers, older people, groups, formal contexts)

This choice changes which formula you use:

You can also use Comment ça va ? with either, because it doesn’t show the pronoun directly.

If you’re not sure, start with vous versions (Comment allez-vous ?, Vous allez bien ?). French people might later say “On peut se tutoyer ?” /ɔ̃ pø sə ty.twa.je/ — can we use tu? When that happens, you can switch to tu vas bien ?, Ça va ?, etc.

Real-Life Patterns: When It’s A Ritual vs Real Question

In real conversations, “How are you?” isn’t always a request for your life story.

Ritual, quick version:

Bonjour, ça va ?
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ sa va/
Morning, all good?

Ça va, et toi ?
/sa va e twa/
Yeah, you?

Ça va.
/sa va/
All good.

Done. Nobody expects more.

Real, emotional check-in:

Ça va ? Tu as l’air fatigué.
/sa va ty a lɛʁ fa.ti.ɡe/
You okay? You look tired.

Here, tone and context invite a detailed answer:

Bof, ça ne va pas trop en ce moment.
/bɔf sa nə va pa tʁo ɑ̃ s‿mɔ.mɑ̃/
Meh, things aren’t great right now.

A good survival tactic: if you’re not ready for deep therapy in French, you can keep it light with:

Ça va, merci, et toi ?
/sa va mɛʁ.si e twa/
I’m okay, thanks, and you?

Region Notes

Across France, the basic system is the same:

Comment allez-vous ? and Vous allez bien ? are standard polite versions.
Ça va ?, Comment ça va ?, Tu vas bien ? are the everyday informal ones.

In everyday France French:

You’ll hear Ça va ? much more often than Comment allez-vous ? between people who know each other.
Some regions lean more into Tu vas bien ? or Vous allez bien ?, but the differences are subtle.

If you stick to the patterns in this guide, you’ll sound natural everywhere from Paris to Marseille to Lille.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1: New Colleague (Polite)

Bonjour, je suis le nouveau stagiaire. Comment allez-vous ?
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ ʒə sɥi lə nu.vo sta.ʒjɛʁ kɔ.mɑ̃ ta.le vu/
Hello, I’m the new intern. How are you?

Bonjour, très bien merci, et vous ?
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ tʁɛ bjɛ̃ mɛʁ.si e vu/
Hello, very well thanks, and you?

Ça va bien, merci.
/sa va bjɛ̃ mɛʁ.si/
I’m doing well, thank you.

Dialogue 2: Friends In A Café

Salut, ça va ?
/sa.ly sa va/
Hey, how’s it going?

Bof, moyen aujourd’hui. Et toi ?
/bɔf mwa.jɛ̃ o.ʒuʁ.dɥi e twa/
Meh, so-so today. And you?

Ça va, je suis un peu fatigué mais ça va.
/sa va ʒə sɥi ɛ̃ pø fa.ti.ɡe mɛ sa va/
I’m okay, a bit tired but fine.

Allez, un café et ça va aller.
/a.lɛ ɛ̃ ka.fe e sa va a.le/
Come on, a coffee and you’ll be fine.

Dialogue 3: Doctor’s Appointment

Bonjour monsieur, vous allez bien aujourd’hui ?
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ mə.sjø vu za.le bjɛ̃ o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/
Hello sir, are you well today?

Pas vraiment, ça ne va pas très bien.
/pa vʁɛ.mɑ̃ sa nə va pa tʁɛ bjɛ̃/
Not really, things aren’t so good.

D’accord, dites-moi ce qui ne va pas.
/da.kɔʁ dit mwa sə ki nə va pa/
Alright, tell me what’s wrong.

Je suis très stressé en ce moment.
/ʒə sɥi tʁɛ stʁe.se ɑ̃ s‿mɔ.mɑ̃/
I’m very stressed at the moment.

Quick Reference: “How Are You?” In French

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Formal vs Informal Pairs
Say each pair out loud three times, hearing the difference:
- Comment allez-vous ? / Comment ça va ?
- Vous allez bien ? / Tu vas bien ?
Answer Spinner
Write four answers you actually like: e.g. Ça va bien, Pas mal, Très bien, merci, Bof, moyen.
Ask yourself Ça va ? and answer with a different one each time.
Mirror Dialogue
Stand in front of a mirror and do the classic ritual:
Bonjour, ça va ? — Ça va, et toi ? — Ça va.
Play both roles and focus on sounding relaxed, not robotic.
Tu / Vous Swap
Take the line Bonjour, vous allez bien ? and rewrite it as Bonjour, tu vas bien ?.
Read both versions out loud and imagine who you’d say them to in your real life.
Real-Life Mission
Next time you message or talk to a French speaker (or your imaginary one in your head), start with one full package:
Bonjour, comment ça va ? and be ready with Ça va bien, merci, et toi ? when they ask back.

Why This Little Question Matters

“How are you?” is tiny, but it’s the doorway to almost every French interaction. Once you’re comfortable with Comment allez-vous ?, Ça va ?, and the handful of replies that feel natural in your mouth, conversations stop feeling like exams and start feeling like… conversations. You’re no longer the yak who answers every emotional question with Oui—you’re the one who can check in, bounce the question back, and actually sound like you live inside the language, not just its textbook.