What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "you have eaten?" because French uses the passé composé (auxiliary verb + past participle) to express the recent past.
Which one should you use?
Use vous avez mangé ? instead of tu as mangé ? if you are addressing more than one person or speaking to someone in a formal context.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The informal way to ask if someone has eaten is tu as mangé ? The formal way to ask if someone has eaten is Avez-vous mangé? Est-ce que tu as mangé ? is a more standard, grammatically complete way to form the question compared to the casual rising intonation of tu as mangé ?
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, a common way of asking "Did you eat?" is As-tu mangé?
How does it change in a sentence?
The word mangé is the past participle of manger (to eat) and does not change its spelling in this specific construction regardless of the subject.
Did you know?
- While manger means 'to eat', French speakers often use the word bouffer in very slangy contexts to ask if someone has eaten.
- French culture places such a high value on the ritual of dining that asking if someone has eaten is often a primary way to show care and affection.
- The word tu is a distant relative of the German 'du' and the Russian 'ты'.
Examples in context
- Salut! Tu as mangé quelque chose aujourd'hui?Hi! Did you eat something today?
- Tu as mangé ?Did you eat?
Example conversation
A text message exchange between two friends in the afternoon.
- NathanSalut Chloé, tu as mangé ?Hi Chloé, did you eat?
- ChloéNon, pas encore, et toi Nathan ?No, not yet, and you Nathan?
- NathanMoi, je viens de finir.Me, I just finished.
- ChloéD'accord, je vais chercher quelque chose.Okay, I'm going to go find something to eat.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries as, mangé, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
