Ça va or comment allez-vous? Ask and answer “How are you?” in French

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 30 September 2026 · About the library

Practise French wellbeing questions and replies with friends, polite vous and groups. Learn ça va, comment vas-tu, comment allez-vous and et vous.

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In short

Ça va ? is a short, conversational “How are you?” or “Are you OK?” Comment allez-vous ? asks with vous; Comment vas-tu ? asks with tu. Answer with Ça va, merci or Très bien, merci, then return the question: Et toi ? or Et vous ?

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Two friends stop to talk on a French neighbourhood street. — A friendly check-in gives ça va ? a natural setting. Illustration: Atelier

Start with the person you are addressing

Who	Question	Return question
One friend (tu)	Ça va ? / Comment vas-tu ?	Et toi ?
One person you call vous	Comment allez-vous ?	Et vous ?
Two or more people	Comment allez-vous ?	Et vous ?

Comment allez-vous ? is a useful careful opening with someone you address as vous. With two friends, the same vous is simply plural. The short Ça va ? also fits conversational exchanges with people you call vous: the question itself contains neither tu nor vous.

One friend: keep toi in the reply

YouSalut Léa, ça va ?Hi Léa, how are you?

The person you greetÇa va, merci. Et toi ?I’m OK, thanks. And you?

YouPas mal, merci.Not bad, thanks.

A polite exchange with vous

YouBonjour madame, comment allez-vous ?Hello, how are you?

The person you greetTrès bien, merci. Et vous ?Very well, thank you. And you?

YouJe vais bien, merci.I’m well, thank you.

Two friends together

YouSalut ! Comment allez-vous tous les deux ?Hi! How are you both?

The person you greetBien, merci. Et toi ?Well, thanks. And you?

YouÇa va, merci.I’m OK, thanks.

Check on someone who seems worried

YouÇa va ? Tu as l’air inquiet.Are you OK? You look worried.

The person you greetPas très bien. Je suis stressé pour demain.Not very well. I’m stressed about tomorrow.

YouTu veux en parler ?Would you like to talk about it?

How do you answer ça va in French?

Choose an answer that fits

French	English
Très bien, merci.	Very well, thank you.
Ça va, merci.	I’m OK, thanks.
Pas mal.	Not bad.
Pas très bien aujourd’hui.	Not very well today.

The two words in Ça va ? — Ça va do two jobs: the first asks a question, the second answers it. Keep the question mark after the question and the space before it. Write the cedilla in ça and the hyphens in allez-vous and vas-tu.