Ça va bien, et toi ?
In French, "I am good and you" is expressed as Ça va bien, et toi ?
This phrase is a standard response to greetings such as Comment vas-tu ? or Ça va ? It is used to state that you are doing well and to return the question to the other person. In casual conversation, the adverb bien is often omitted, resulting in the shorter phrase Ça va, et toi ? Additionally, you may hear the informal Ça va used on its own to mean "How are you?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Ça va bien, et toi ? literally translates to "It goes well and you?" because the construction ça va means "it goes" or "it is going".
Which one should you use?
The version using toi is the informal way to say "and you?", while versions using vous are used for formal situations or when addressing a group. For example, Je vais bien, et vous? and Tout va bien, et vous? are formal alternatives.
How does it change in a sentence?
Use et vous ? instead of et toi ? when speaking to a stranger, a superior or a group of people.
Did you know?
- Using ça va can sometimes be a social 'white lie'. In French culture, it is common to respond ça va out of politeness even if you are not actually doing well, unless you are speaking to a very close friend.
- The tiny word et used to connect your response to the question was often written simply as e in Old French. The modern spelling with the 't' was a deliberate attempt to make the language look more like Latin.
- While ça va translates to 'it goes', it is used in French as both the question and the answer. A conversation can consist entirely of the phrase ça va ? and the response ça va, meaning 'how are things?' and 'things are fine'.
Example conversation
Hugo and Léa meet in a street in Paris.
- HugoSalut Léa, ça va ?Hi Léa, how are you?
- LéaSalut Hugo ! Ça va bien, et toi ?Hi Hugo! I am doing well, and you?
- HugoÇa va très bien, merci.I am doing very well, thank you.
- LéaSuper, bonne journée !Great, have a good day!
