How to ask about health in French

The standard way to ask 'How are you?' in French is 'comment allez-vous?' However, there are multiple ways to inquire and respond, along with following up after answering. Here are some of the most common and useful phrases.

Politely ask 'Comment allez-vous?' This is the standard way to ask someone how they are doing, appropriate in all situations but most commonly used in formal settings, when speaking to strangers or older people.

• The correct pronunciation of this phrase is kom-mohn tay-lay voo.
• Comment means 'how.'
• Allez comes from the verb 'aller,' meaning 'to be healthy (good/bad)' or 'to progress.'
• Vous means 'you.'
• The literal translation of this phrase is 'How is your health?'

Ask friends and family 'Comment ça va?' This phrase is also a way to inquire about someone's health but is more casual and less formal, so it should only be used with people you are familiar with.

• This phrase is roughly pronounced koh-mohn sah vah.
• Comment means 'how.'
• Va is a conjugated form of the verb aller, meaning 'to progress.'
• When standing alone, ça is a pronoun meaning 'it.'
• The literal translation of this phrase is 'How's everything?'

A shorter version of the question is 'Ça va?' This is a very informal way of asking 'How are you?' You simply ask 'ça va?'

• This phrase is pronounced sah vah.
• The more literal translation is 'How's it going?' Similar to asking 'What's up?' in English.

Change it to 'Comment vas-tu?' Although this has the same formal structure, it is used among friends.

• This question is pronounced koh-mohn vah too.
• Comment means 'how,' vas is the conjugated form of the verb aller, and tu is the informal word for 'you.'
• The literal translation is 'How are you?'

Answer positively with 'bien.' The word 'bien' means 'good/fine.' You can answer briefly to say you're doing fine, but it’s often used as part of a longer sentence.

• This word is pronounced bee-ehn.
• 'Je vais bien' is a more extended response, meaning 'I’m fine/Everything is good.'
• 'Très bien' means 'very well.'
• 'Bien, merci' means 'fine, thank you.'
• 'Tout va bien' means 'everything is fine.'
• 'Assez bien' means 'quite well.'
• 'Ça va' means 'good/fine.'

Respond negatively with "mal." Similar to the previous positive expression, mal is often used as a response. It means "bad" or "poor."

• Mal is pronounced mahl.
• You can also use it in an extended phrase like "Je vais mal," which means "I'm not feeling well" or "Things aren't going well."

Use "Comme-ci comme-ca" when you're in between. This expression is similar to "so-so" in English, meaning "average" or "mediocre."

• The pronunciation of this phrase is kum-see, kum-sah.

Politely ask "Et vous?" This phrase is used when you want to ask someone else how they are after they’ve asked you first and you’ve already responded.

• Et means "and."
• The literal translation is "And you?"
• This question can be used in any context, but it is most often seen in formal situations or when speaking with strangers or older people.

Ask your friends and family "Et toi?" This phrase is used to ask someone how they are after they’ve asked you first.

• Toi is an informal way of saying "you."
• This question is commonly used in casual settings, such as with friends or family. For more formal contexts, use "et vous?" instead.