comment
/kɔ.mɑ̃/
The English word "how" is translated into French as comment.
comment is used to mean "in what manner". In standard spoken French, you will frequently see the structure comment est-ce que… to initiate a question starting with "how".
Meaning: in what manner (adv)
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables and is pronounced /kɔ.mɑ̃/.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use Comment ? to mean "What?" or "Pardon?", but this can sound abrupt or rude in French. It is better to use Pardon ? or Comment dites-vous ? instead. However, note that Comment ? can be used as an interjection to express surprise or disbelief, similar to saying "How/What?!" in English.
Did you know?
- In French, you can use le comment as a noun to discuss the 'how' of a situation, often contrasting it with le pourquoi to distinguish the method from the reason.
- In casual speech, French speakers often move comment to the end of the sentence, turning a formal question like Comment a-t-il fait ça ? into the more natural Il a fait ça comment ?
- The word comment is actually a combination of the word comme, meaning 'like', and the suffix -ment, which is used to form many adverbs in French.
Examples in context
- Comment ça va ?How is it going?This sentence shows how to use comment to ask how something is going.Tatoeba #4189529 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #38308 by CK
- Comment va Tom ?How is Tom?This sentence uses comment to ask about the state of a person.Tatoeba #4767876 by Doremi391, translation #3172171 by CK
- Comment on y va ?How do we get there?This sentence uses comment to ask about the method of getting somewhere.Tatoeba #11662479 by Aiji, translation #4887801 by CK
- De quelle manière puis-je vous aider ?How can I help you?
- Salut ! Comment ça va ?Hi! How's it going?
- Salut Tom, ça roule ?Hey Tom, everything going well?
- Tu as passé de bonnes vacances ? Comment ça s'est passé ?Did you have a good vacation? How did it go?
- Salut Sophie, quoi de neuf ?Hey Sophie, what's new?
- Comment ça s'est passé hier soir ?How did it go last night? – informal
- Ça va bien, et toi ?I'm doing well, and you? – informal
- 3936 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan is asking Chloé for instructions on a task.
- NathanComment on fait ça ?How do we do this?
- ChloéC'est très simple, regarde.It is very simple, look.
- NathanComment est-ce que ça marche ?How does it work?
- ChloéTu appuies sur ce bouton.You press this button.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how” translations and entries comment, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries comment, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
