This lesson is part of the course(s):
Getting Started in French
French – Asking How Things Are and Replying
Listen to some common phrases to ask someone how they are and a selection of responses to those questions in French.
Watch the video as many times as you need, until you feel you can give the French translations as the video plays!
Vocabulary from the Video
Part 1:
| How’s things? | Ça va? |
| How’s it going? | Comment ça va? |
| How are you? | Comment allez-vous? |
| Fine, thank you. | Ça va bien, merci. |
| And you? | Et vous? |
Part 2:
| Very good, thanks. | Très bien, merci. |
| So so. | Comme ci comme ça. |
| Not so good. | Pas très bien. |
| It’s not going well. | Ça ne va pas. |
| Things are going badly. | Ça va mal. |
Formal and Informal Expressions in French
French has two ways of saying ‘you.’ These are vous and tu. In these expressions, you can we have used vous, which is the form used in formal settings. It is best to start by learning the formal expressions, and then pick up the informal versions later.
You’ll also notice in this list we have included three ways of asking how someone is. The most formal, and the one that is best to use until you are really familiar with someone is Comment allez-vous? and the least formal is Ça va?
Flashcards
Test yourself on the words or phrases in this lesson. Tap the card to reveal each answer and swipe or press the arrows to move forward and back as you familiarize yourself with what we’ve learned.
Go Deeper
If you want to expand your knowledge about this topic, explore any materials below.
Asking How Are You in French
When To Use Tu and Vous in French
Give It a Go!
If you’d like to test your knowledge of what you’ve learned so far, you can select from any quizzes or activities below.
French Quiz – Asking How Things Are
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Getting Started in French
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