comment ça va
/kɔ.mɑ̃ sa va/
In French, 'how are you going' is translated as comment ça va.
comment ça va is a common greeting used to ask someone about their current well-being or general life situation. It can be translated as 'How is it going?' or 'How are things?'
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'how that goes' where comment means 'how', ça means 'that' and va means 'goes'.
Which one should you use?
While comment ça va is a casual way to ask how someone is doing, Comment allez-vous ? is a more formal way to ask the same question. Comment vous portez-vous ? is another formal way to ask 'How are you?' For a slightly different meaning of 'How is it going?', you can use Comment ça se passe ?
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of France, such as the south, you might hear the colloquial expression Comment ça gaze ?
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual conversation, the phrase comment ça va can be shortened to just ça va.
How do you pronounce it?
/kɔ.mɑ̃ sa va/
When do people say it?
A common response to this greeting is Ça va bien, merci. (It's going well, thanks.).
Did you know?
- The verb va in comment ça va shares the same linguistic ancestor as the English word 'wander'. Both come from the Latin verb vādō, which originally meant 'to go' or 'to walk'.
- When responding to Comment ça va ?, many French speakers simply say Ça va back as both the question and the answer. It functions as a linguistic loop where the same two words mean both 'How are you?' and 'I am fine'.
- Depending on the intonation, ça va can also be used to ask 'Are you okay?' after an accident or a conflict. In this context, it is less about general well-being and more about a specific state of distress.
Examples in context
- Ça va, et toi ?I'm fine, and you?
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa meet by chance on the street.
- LucasSalut Léa, comment ça va ?Hi Léa, how are you doing?
- LéaÇa va très bien, merci Lucas !I'm doing very well, thanks Lucas!
- LucasJe suis content de l'apprendre.I am glad to hear that.
- LéaEt toi, tout va bien ?And you, is everything going well?
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry comment ça va, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries comment, comment ça va, va, ça, CC BY-SA 4.0.
