¿Cómo estás?
The English phrase "hru" (how are you) can be expressed in Spanish as ¿Cómo estás?
In English text messaging, "hru" is an abbreviation for "how are you".
Which one should you use?
Informal ways to ask include ¿Cómo estás?, ¿Qué tal estás? and ¿Cómo te va? If you want to be polite, you can use ¿Qué tal le va? Formal alternatives include ¿Cómo está usted? and ¿Cómo se encuentra?
Did you know?
- If you use the formal ¿Cómo está usted? in a text message to a friend, they might think you are being sarcastic or that you are suddenly angry with them.
- The word cómo in this greeting actually derives from a shortened Latin form, cōmō̆, which was a less formal way of saying 'in what manner'.
- When texting, many Spanish speakers omit the opening question mark ¿ to save time, a habit that would be a major grammatical error in formal writing.
Examples in context
- Hola, ¿cómo estás?Hi, how are you?
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are texting each other on WhatsApp.
- Daniel¿Cómo estás?How are you?
- SofíaMuy bien, ¿y tú?Very well, and you?
- DanielTodo bien por aquí.Everything is good over here.
- SofíaMe alegra mucho, Daniel.I am very glad, Daniel.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cómo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
