hola, com estàs?
In Catalan, the phrase "hi, how are you?" is expressed as hola, com estàs?
The phrase is a common greeting used to say hello and ask about someone's well-being. While hola, com estàs? is a standard way to ask, you can also use the casual greeting Què tal? to mean "What's up?" or "How's it going?"
Which one should you use?
The form com estàs? is used for singular, informal situations, whereas com esteu? is used for plural or formal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
The third-person singular formal form of the question is com està?
When do people say it?
When someone asks you how you are, a common response to express that you are doing well is Bé, gràcies. If you want to ask the question back, you can say bé, gràcies, i tu? (fine, thanks and you?).
Did you know?
- While com estàs? asks about well-being, the word com is also linked to an ancient Gaulish word '*kumbos' meaning 'curved'.
- The plural form com esteu? is used to address a single individual if that person holds a position of high authority.
- While hola is now ubiquitous, a more traditional Catalan speaker might use the word adéu as a greeting in certain historical contexts, though today it almost exclusively means 'goodbye'.
Examples in context
- Hola, com estàs?Hi, how are you?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries com, hola, CC BY-SA 4.0.
