How Are You?
When you meet people, you have the opportunity to ask how they are doing that day. While asking how someone is feeling can feel like a social pleasantry, it also opens the door to other avenues of conversation. Familiarize yourself with the words and phrases below, and practice your pronunciation by repeating each aloud after the speaker. The speaker will say the French word fluently, then slowly so you can hear the exact pronunciation, and then fluently again. Click each word or phrase to hear the pronunciation.
| French | English |
| Ça va bien, merci | Very well, thank you |
| Comme ci, comme ça | Okay |
| Comment ça va? | How are you? |
| Et toi? | And you? (fam) |
| Et vous? | And you? (formal) |
| Madame (Mme)* | Mrs. |
| Mademoiselle (Mlle)* | Miss |
| Moi aussi | Me too |
| Monsieur (M)* | Mr./Sir |
| Pas mal | Not bad |
| Pas Terrible | Not so great |
| Super | Super |
Titles
Take a moment to look at each word with an asterisk (*) beside it. Mme, Mlle, and M. are comparable to the English titles of Miss, Mrs., Ms., and Mr. In your future readings and activities, you will mostly see these abbreviations used instead of the whole word written out in full.
Hand Gestures
When you meet your friends, do you shake hands? Do you dap? Do you do a secret handshake or hug? In France, when people meet their friends and family, they kiss each other on the cheeks, called faire la bise. Sometimes the French shake hands when they meet, called se serrer la main. Regardless of the gesture, French people are known worldwide for being demonstrative. In this interactivity, you will discover some of the more popular hand gestures used by the French. Click the player to begin.
View a printable version of this interactivity.
How Are You? Review
Now that you have learned a little about asking others how they are doing and responding with how you are doing, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player to get started.