¿cómo está?
usted
In Spanish, "how are you" can be expressed using different forms such as ¿cómo está? (usted) Wiktionary also lists ¿qué tal?
Meaning: greeting (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿cómo está? | usted | ||
| ¿qué tal? | /ˈke ˈtal/ (word by word) | colloquial |
These phrases are used as greetings. While ¿cómo está? specifically asks how someone is, the colloquial ¿qué tal? can be translated as "What's up?" or "How's it going?"
Which one should you use?
¿cómo está? is the formal version of the greeting. In contrast, ¿qué tal? is a common, more casual way to say "how are you" or "how's it going".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
¿cómo está? is a formal greeting used when speaking to elders, superiors or strangers. ¿qué tal? is a colloquial and more casual option.
How does it change in a sentence?
The formal ¿cómo está? uses the "usted" conjugation, whereas the informal version ¿cómo estás? uses the "tú" conjugation.
How do you pronounce it?
usted
When do people say it?
A standard, polite response to any version of "how are you" is Bien, gracias.
Did you know?
- While ¿cómo está? is formal, the choice between tú and usted varies by region. In some parts of Colombia, usted is used even between close friends and family members to show a specific kind of affection or respect.
- Depending on the country, ¿cómo estás? can be replaced by highly localized slang like ¿qué onda? in Mexico or ¿qué más? in Colombia, which function exactly like 'how are you'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, ¿qué tal? is often used as a greeting rather than a question. It is common for people to respond with another ¿qué tal? or a simple hola without actually answering how they feel.
Examples in context
- Hola, Susan. ¿Qué tal?Hi, Susan. How are you?This example shows a casual greeting using ¿qué tal?Tatoeba #10151681 by saverius, translation #54605 by CN
- «¿Qué tal?» «No me puedo quejar.»"How are you?" "I can't complain."This example demonstrates a way to answer the question ¿qué tal?Tatoeba #2384863 by Shishir, translation #884471 by CK
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?Hi! How are you?This is a simple, friendly use of ¿qué tal?Tatoeba #535236 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola María, ¿cómo estás?Hello María, how are you?
- ¡Hola Juan! ¿Qué tal?Hey Juan! What's up?
- ¡Hola Pedro! ¿Cómo te va?Hey Pedro! How are things?
- Buenas tardes, señor Martínez. ¿Cómo está usted?Good afternoon, Mr. Martínez. How are you?
- Buenos días, señora García. ¿Cómo se encuentra?Good morning, Mrs. García. How are you?
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel greets Lucía, a woman he respects formally, at a professional event.
- DanielHola, Lucía, ¿cómo está?Hello, Lucía, how are you?
- LucíaMuy bien, gracias, Daniel.Very well, thank you, Daniel.
- DanielMe alegra saberlo.I am glad to hear that.
- Lucía¿Y usted?And you?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how are you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (qué, tal) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
