How to Say How Are You in French: 15+ Expressions From Formal to Slang

The Short Answer

The most common way to ask "how are you" in French is Comment allez-vous ? (koh-MAHN tah-lay VOO) for formal situations and Ça va ? (sah VAH) for casual ones. The choice between these two forms reveals something fundamental about French: the tu/vous distinction shapes every interaction.

French is spoken by approximately 321 million people across 29 countries, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie's 2022 report. From Parisian cafés to Montréal offices to Dakar markets, asking "how are you" is the social glue of daily conversation, but the way you ask it signals your relationship, your respect, and your cultural fluency. Whether you're looking up "how are you in french" for travel, study, or conversation, this guide covers everything you need.

"In French, the choice between tu and vous is not merely grammatical. It is a social act that positions the speaker relative to the listener in terms of power, solidarity, and intimacy."

(Brown & Levinson, Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage, Cambridge University Press)

This guide covers 15+ ways to ask "how are you" in French, organized from formal to slang, with regional variations from Quebec, Belgium, and Francophone Africa. Each expression includes pronunciation, cultural context, and the situations where it fits best.

Quick Reference: French "How Are You" Expressions

Formal Expressions

In French professional culture, formality is not optional; it is expected. According to the Académie française, the vous form remains the default in any situation where social distance exists. Using tu too early with a colleague, a client, or an elder can come across as presumptuous or even disrespectful.

Comment allez-vous ?

This is the phrase you will use most in professional France. Pair it with Bonjour (good morning/hello) for the complete greeting formula: Bonjour, comment allez-vous ? The standard reply is Bien, merci. Et vous ? (Fine, thank you. And you?).

In French workplaces, many people use vous with their boss for their entire career, even after decades. The switch to tu is never automatic; it must be explicitly offered, usually by the senior or older person.

Comment vous portez-vous ?

This expression has a beautiful etymology: se porter literally means "to carry oneself," asking about someone's overall state of being. You will encounter it in formal letters, diplomatic settings, and occasionally from older French speakers who maintain traditional formality. In everyday conversation, Comment allez-vous ? is more than sufficient.

Standard Informal Expressions

These are for people you address as tu: friends, family, peers your age, and anyone you have established a casual relationship with.

Comment vas-tu ?

The informal counterpart to Comment allez-vous ?, using the tu conjugation. Pair it with Salut (hey/hi) rather than Bonjour for a fully casual register: Salut, comment vas-tu ?

Note the inverted word order (vas-tu instead of tu vas), which is standard in French questions. In spoken French, many people skip the inversion entirely and say Comment tu vas ?, which is grammatically less formal but extremely common.

Tu vas bien ?

This expression carries a slightly warmer tone than Comment vas-tu ? It can be a genuine question rather than just a social formula, particularly if someone looks tired, stressed, or unwell. The intonation makes the difference between a casual greeting and a concerned check-in.

Casual Everyday Expressions

These are the phrases you will hear constantly on the streets of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. They dominate daily conversation and are often used as greetings in their own right.

Ça va ?

Ça va ? is the Swiss Army knife of French greetings. With approximately 321 million Francophones worldwide, this two-syllable phrase is arguably the single most frequently spoken French question.

What makes Ça va ? linguistically fascinating is its dual nature: it serves as both question and answer. A complete, perfectly natural exchange between two French speakers can be: Ça va ? / Ça va. The rising intonation marks the question; the falling intonation marks the answer. Linguist Anna Wierzbicka notes this kind of formulaic exchange as a prime example of how greetings function as social rituals rather than genuine information requests.

Quoi de neuf ?

Unlike Ça va ?, which expects a brief formulaic answer, Quoi de neuf ? invites an actual response. Use it when you genuinely want to hear what someone has been up to. The standard response when nothing is new: Pas grand-chose (Not much) or Rien de spécial (Nothing special).

Ça roule ?

The image behind Ça roule ? is of a wheel rolling smoothly, suggesting everything is moving along nicely. It is more energetic than Ça va ? and signals a friendly, relaxed tone. You might also hear the extended form Ça roule, ma poule ? (Everything good, buddy?), where ma poule (my hen) is a playful term of endearment.

Slang and Youth Expressions

French slang evolves rapidly, influenced by verlan (a word-inversion system), Arabic loanwords, and African Francophone vocabulary. These expressions are common among younger speakers but would sound out of place in formal settings.

Ça gaze ?

Ça gaze ? comes from the era when gas-powered engines were a marvel of modernity: if the engine is running (gassing), everything is fine. While not as current as some newer slang, you will still hear it among French speakers over 30.

La forme ?

A truncation of Tu es en forme ? (Are you in good shape?). It works particularly well when greeting someone before a physical activity or when you want to project energy and enthusiasm. The reply is often Ouais, la grande forme ! (Yeah, in great shape!).

Wesh

Wesh entered French through North African Arabic influence and became a cornerstone of urban youth slang. The expression Wesh, bien ou bien ? (literally "hey, good or good?") is a common greeting that only expects a positive answer. Be aware that using wesh in formal settings or with older speakers would be highly inappropriate because it is firmly rooted in youth and urban culture.

Regional Variations

French spans five continents, and regional varieties have developed their own distinctive ways of asking "how are you." According to Ethnologue's 2024 data, French is an official language in 29 countries, each contributing unique vocabulary and expressions.

Québécois French

Quebec French preserves some 17th-century French features while incorporating innovations not found anywhere in Europe.

Ça va-tu ?

The interrogative particle -tu is one of the most distinctive features of Québécois French. It transforms any statement into a question: C'est bon (It's good) becomes C'est-tu bon ? (Is it good?). This structure baffles European French speakers, who would use Est-ce que instead.

You might also hear Comment ça file ? in Quebec, from the verb filer (to feel/to go), meaning "how's it going?" This usage of filer is rare in European French.

Belgian and Swiss French

Belgian and Swiss French speakers generally use the same expressions as in France (Comment allez-vous ?, Ça va ?, Comment vas-tu ?) with subtle differences in intonation and frequency. Belgian French tends toward slightly more formal register in daily life, and you may hear Comment est-ce que vous allez ? more often than in Paris.

Francophone Africa

In West and Central Africa, where over half of the world's French speakers live, greetings carry extra social weight. Conversations typically begin with extended greeting sequences that inquire about health, family, and well-being in detail.

Ça va la famille ?

In Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, and other West African Francophone countries, the greeting ritual is far more elaborate than in France. A typical exchange runs through Ça va ?, then Ça va la famille ?, Ça va le travail ? (How's work?), Ça va la santé ? (How's your health?). Each question receives an affirmative response before the next. Rushing through this sequence signals disrespect.

How to Respond to "How Are You" in French

Knowing how to respond is just as important as knowing how to ask. Here are the most common responses, organized by register.

Formal Responses

Casual Responses

The response Bof deserves special mention. This single syllable, somewhere between a sigh and a grunt, is quintessentially French. It means "meh" or "not great, not terrible" and is often accompanied by a shrug. No other language captures indifference quite as efficiently.

The Bise: What Comes With the Greeting

No guide to French greetings is complete without mentioning la bise, the cheek-kiss greeting that accompanies Comment allez-vous ? and Ça va ? alike.

The number of kisses varies dramatically by region: two in Paris, three in Provence, four in parts of the Loire Valley, and sometimes just one in certain areas of Brittany. Research by the French website Combiendebises.com mapped the entire country and found that the number ranges from one to four depending on the département. In professional settings, a handshake (une poignée de main) replaces the bise.

Practice With Real French Content

Reading about these expressions is a good starting point, but hearing them spoken naturally in context is what makes them stick. French films and television are filled with greeting sequences that demonstrate the tu/vous distinction in action. Watch how characters in a workplace drama navigate formality versus how friends greet each other in a comedy.

Wordy lets you watch French movies and shows with interactive subtitles, tapping on any phrase to see its meaning, pronunciation, and cultural register in real time. Instead of memorizing Comment allez-vous ? in isolation, you absorb it from authentic conversations with native intonation and body language.

For more French content, explore our blog for guides on everything from the best movies to learn French to French greetings and beyond. You can also visit our French learning page to start practicing today.