What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from comment (how), tu (you), te (yourself) and sens (feel), literally meaning "how you yourself feel".
Which one should you use?
While comment tu te sens specifically asks about internal physical or emotional states, the phrase comment ça va is a more general greeting used to ask how someone is doing in a social sense.
How does it change in a sentence?
To use this phrase in a formal context or when addressing more than one person, replace tu te sens with vous vous sentez to get comment vous vous sentez. In more formal written French, the subject and verb are often inverted to form the question, resulting in comment te sens-tu ? Additionally, in casual spoken French, it is very common to place the question word comment at the end of the sentence as tu te sens comment ?
Did you know?
- The French word sens can mean 'feeling' or 'emotion' but also refers to a physical 'direction' or 'way'.
- In France, asking comment tu te sens is usually reserved for health or deep emotions and is rarely used as a casual greeting.
- The word tu is a cognate of the German word du and the Russian word ты.
Examples in context
- Comment vous sentez-vous aujourd'hui ?How are you feeling today?
- Dis-moi, comment tu te sens après ton sport ?Tell me, how are you feeling after your workout?
- Comment tu te sens avec tout ce stress ?How are you feeling with all this stress?
Example conversation
Nathan is checking on Léa after she had a long day.
- NathanTu as l'air fatiguée, comment tu te sens ?You look tired, how are you feeling?
- LéaJe me sens un peu épuisée, mais ça va.I feel a bit exhausted, but I'm okay.
- NathanTu devrais te reposer un peu ce soir.You should rest a bit tonight.
- LéaTu as raison, je vais me coucher tôt.You're right, I'm going to go to bed early.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries comment, sens, te, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
