It is used to both ask and answer common questions about well-being.

(Yes, I'm fine, thanks. Ça va can be used to mean that something will happen. Plus, I’ll share several fun ways to respond to the question. The first column gives the sentence with ça va in French, while the second column provides the English translation. So let’s take a look at this small but mighty creature.

The literal translation of ça va is “it goes” or “that goes.”.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. – “How are you?” Et toi ? But why do you use comment? I promise that by the end of this article, you will have rekindled your relationship with this word! It is about learning and actively practicing the language you in hear in the videos with the help of interactive subtitles, flashcards and vocabulary lists. As much importance as French places on agreement, this is one situation when learners can happily throw the rulebook out the window. (Is it alright if I sit there? (Yes, sir/madame, I do not feel well at all. If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn French with real-world videos. (How is work? Imagine how good you will feel when you discover additional uses!

(Jean has played another trick on Pierre.

Salut, ça va?

We also participate in other affiliate advertising programs for products and services we believe in. For example: The expression can also be used with a subject or object. (I want to go there tonight—is that alright?

The sentences are listed in French on the left followed by the English translation. (Can I eat the leftover sandwich—is that okay?). Kick-start Your French Language Journey with These Common French Words and Phrases for Beginners, 10 Awesome French Podcasts For French Learners, 9 Great Channels to Learn French on YouTube, 10 Tasty Tips for Teaching Yourself French, 7 Awesome Songs to Help You Learn French Through Music, 15 French Idioms You Should Know But Don’t, 15 French Slang Words Every French Learner Should Know. Ça va (pronounced "sava," since the cedilla makes the C sound like an S) is truly the magical French language word language. Sophie McDonald is a freelance content writer with a burning passion for writing and languages. Let’s look at a possible exchange between you and your boss: Boss: Bonjour __, c’est très tôt—ça ne va pas ? (Hi, how are you?/how are things?/how is it going?). can take anywhere. How to Use the French Expression Ça Va in Conversation, ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Because it never changes.

Used in casual conversation, it can be both a question and a reply, but it's an informal expression. This expression is most commonly used to ask how someone is doing, even if you are not necessarily expecting or wanting a reply.

Now that we have studied the formal ways of saying "how are you" in French, let's look at the informal ways.Granted, ça va is not the most formal French. Ça va literally means “that goes”. (And your kids, are they OK? No change is necessary for a plural subject: You can also use the phrase to ask whether something just discussed is acceptable: You can answer any of the previous examples as well as any similar questions with ça va in conversations.

), Je peux manger le sandwich qui reste—ça (te) va?

By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Learn Some Practical French Phrases for Use in Everyday Life, How to Use the French Expression "Pas de Problème", Understanding the French Expression "Pas Mal", The 9 Best Podcasts for Learning French in 2020, How to Use the French Expression "Ça Marche", How to Use the French Expression 'N'est-ce Pas' in Conversation, How to Use the French Expression "Allons-y", How to Use "Est-ce Que" to Ask Questions in French, How to Use the French Expression N'Importe Quoi.

Granted, ça va is not the most formal French. Et toi ? ), Ça va bien vous deux ? Learning French becomes fun and easy when you learn with movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks. But it's so practical that it's been used a lot in French lately, and has really made its way in almost all situations: among friends and family, of course, but also at the office or with acquaintances.

(It is going to end badly.).

Let’s imagine that I have just walked out of a fitting room in a rather becoming pair of trousers. ), Et vos enfants, ça va ?

You are (insert age here) years old and just trying to make it through life let alone another French class. You might even spot another way ça va is used that I have not included in this article. An excellent way to give yourself this opportunity is to access the thousands of authentic French videos on FluentU. You need to know which "you" to use: • tu the informal, which takes the second-person singular verb tense, or • vous the formal, which also doubles as the second-person plural pronoun, equivalent to "you all". There are times when someone is being hypocritical and not in a position to justify what they are saying. )Oui, ça va bien, merci. (Download). Learning the many ways this expression is used will bring you one step closer to speaking French like a native speaker. Ça va can be used to ask how everyone is doing.

Simply respond with ça va in a neutral to positive tone of voice—only if you are feeling that way, of course! In this article, I’ll teach you how to ask someone how they are in French. Votre travail, ça va ? Because like all–purpose flour, ça va is a common and versatile expression used in a variety of different ways.

Let’s get old school and go back to the classroom. Literally translated, ça va means "it goes."

With this particular usage, you are going beyond studying grammatical constructions to actually using the language naturally—as in using everyday expressions that take you closer to proficiency. Friend: Jean a encore joué un tour à Pierre. Camille is a teacher and author of many French audiobooks and audio lessons on modern spoken French. Et vous ?

It is one of the first things you will encounter as a débutant (a beginner) in French. We’ll look at all of usages in this lesson. Whether you are using "tu" or "vous" doesn't matter: Ça va madame Chevalier ?

In English (and sticking with the cake theme) we might say something like:”that is rich coming from you!” or “you can talk!”. Another example situation where ça va can be used in this way is when a parent comes into their daughter’s bedroom to ask how her homework is going: Comment ça va les devoirs?

Things are going to get heated). ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our, How to Use the French Expression Ça Va in Conversation, Halloween in France: French-English Bilingual Story, Learn Some Practical French Phrases for Use in Everyday Life, Kissing Hello in France: A French-English Dialogue, How to Extend (or Decline) an Invitation in French, How to Use the French Expression "Pas de Problème", 'On y Va' ('Let's Go'): French Invitation, Command, and Question, La Politesse: French Phrases of Politeness, the formal ways of saying "how are you" in French. FluentU is not just about watching videos, though.

For instance, a pair of friends shopping for clothes might have this exchange: The table below provides a few other ways to use ça va. Practice using ça va with another student working to learn the language and you'll soon be using this important French phrase like a native speaker. She co-created and runs French Today, offering original audio for adult students.

In doing so, you are letting the speaker know that life is going okay. Or at the end of a sentence as a quick confirmation: Je veux y aller ce soir—ça (te) va?

)Oui, ça va bien, merci. I will be using the latter for the rest of the article, as well as occasionally dropping the “ne” in the negative, which is often omitted in informal conversations.

Ça va is often used when you want to know if what you are proposing is acceptable to someone else.

(Figuratively—that is rich coming from you!). Thanks for subscribing! Aller à (qqn) is used when you want to say that an item of clothing suits or looks good on somebody. Many French learners think that the expression comme si, comme ça (like this, like that) is the appropriate thing to say at this point, especially if you are feeling “so-so.”.

To strengthen this feeling (or make it more emphatic), you can add a positive adverb such as bien (well).

Equally, there are multiple ways to express this idea in French, but this one might be the very thing to sum up this tasty menu of ça va: Ça te va bien! Or if you think I look hideous but want to be polite and honest: Whether you are too tired the next day after an exhausting trouser shopping spree or are genuinely feeling a bit under the weather, there are two nifty expressions you can use to express this, especially if you need to call out of work: Je ne me sens pas bien. By now you are hopefully feeling a bit clearer about the multiple uses of ça va—our nifty, all-purpose friend. Even if you have unsavory memories of learning the language in school—perhaps traumatic enough to cause a kind of amnesia—I bet you still remember these two little words.

Do you want to learn how to use ça va to keep everyone happy?

The truth is that while understandable to francophones, this is not the well-used expression anglophones think it is. You can also express this by using the adverb mal (badly). That is a bit rich—and I do not mean the cake!

(Is it okay if I buy this car?).

Meaning of Ça Va .

Now that you are aware of the ways that it is used, you will likely start hearing it as you encounter French being spoken by native French speakers.

But it's so practical that it's been used a lot in French lately, and has really made its way in almost all situations: among friends and family, of course, but also at the office or with acquaintances. For example, you wouldn't say to the Queen of England Bonjour Votre Majesté, ça va ? Note that the phrase doesn't vary. (Yes, I'm fine, thank you. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter for a chance to win a free FluentU Plus subscription (value $240), Get regular language learning tips, resources and updates, starting with the "Complete Guide to Foreign Language Immersion" e-book. Comment allez-vous ? You are more likely to hear ça va in the positive form but spoken in a tone of voice that indicates the speaker is not feeling wonderful for whatever reason. In this post, you'll get the complete rundown of this two-word phrase and walk away with 10 different ways to use it. (What is happening?). FluentU is an online immersion platform that takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

(How is your mother's health?). (How are you, Camille? (Hello__, it is very early—is there something wrong?/are you sick?

Je crois que j’ai une gastro-entérite. )Ça va, ça va, merci. If you want to be more explicit about your negative feeling, you can simply respond with: Ça (ne) va pas.

Let’s say you are having a really bad day—you got a parking ticket, spilled soda down the front of your shirt before a meeting and dropped your front door key down a deep crack in the sidewalk. 1. And you?). It is all about the way you say it here.

© 2020 Enux Education Limited. But if you're speaking with people whom you know, such as family and friends, ça va is perfectly acceptable.



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