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"how are you?" in seven languages

Meaninghow are you?

Spanish

¿cómo estás?

/ˈkomo esˈtas/

inherited

Formal: ¿cómo está?

French

comment ça va ?

/kɔmɑ̃ sa va/

inherited

Formal: comment allez-vous ?

Italian

come stai?

/ˈkome ˈstai/

inherited

Formal: come sta?

Portuguese

tudo bem?

/ˈtudu bẽj/

other source · Latin TŌTUM 'all' + BENE 'well'

Como vai? is the closer match, but tudo bem? is what Brazilians actually say.

Romanian

ce mai faci?

/tʃe maj ˈfatʃʲ/

other source · Romanian 'what more are you doing' (ce ← QUID, faci ← FACERE)

Catalan

com estàs?

/kɔm əsˈtas/

inherited

English

how are you

/haʊ ɑɹ ju/

native English · Old English hū

Only distantly linked: how shares the PIE question stem *kʷo- with Latin QUŌ.

English → Italianhow are you?come stai?Not relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

QUŌMODO‘in what way, how’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

All three start from QUŌMODO 'in what manner' (French adds -ment). Then they part: Spanish and Italian ask how you 'stand' (STĀRE), French how 'it goes' (ça va, from VADERE).

Learn it

Practice the Greetings & courtesy deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esHola, Paolo, ¿cómo estás?
  • frSalut Paolo, comment ça va ?
  • itCiao Paolo, come stai?
  • ptOi, Paolo, tudo bem?
  • roSalut, Paolo, ce mai faci?
  • caHola, Paolo, com estàs?
  • enHi Paolo, how are you?

More words from the same Latin

More in Greetings & courtesy

All Greetings & courtesy words