How to say "How are you?" in French

Which is more polite: comment allez-vous or ça va?

Comment allez-vous ? is the polite, complete question, and it uses vous. Ça va ? has no tu or vous in it at all, which makes it handy: it suits colleagues, neighbours and friends alike, though it is a little casual for a first meeting with someone senior.

How do you answer ça va?

The neat thing about ça va is that the same two words answer it: Ça va ? — Ça va. Then bounce the question back with et toi ? or et vous ? Leaving that out can sound as if you are not interested in the other person.

A Contos story shows the honest, unhappy answer. At a Strasbourg market, Sophie sees that Julien, from the rival family's stall, looks miserable:

As here, ça va ? can also mean "are you all right?" when someone looks upset.

Do French people expect a real answer?

Between acquaintances, ça va is often part of the greeting, like "you all right?" in Britain, and a short positive answer is expected. Close friends and family usually do want the real answer. With a shop assistant you don't know, people often skip the question entirely: bonjour is enough.

Not answering at all is a signal in itself. In this A1 story, Camille has just found a mysterious letter on her landing, and when the old locksmith downstairs asks how she is, she is miles away:

Je vais bien or je suis bien?

To say "I'm well", French uses aller (to go), not être (to be): je vais bien. Je suis bien exists, but it means "I'm comfortable" or "I feel good here", as in je suis bien dans ce fauteuil, I'm comfortable in this armchair.

Another common slip is answering comment allez-vous ? with a bare bien. It isn't wrong, but bien, merci, et vous ? sounds far more natural. For greeting someone in the first place, see how to say hello in French.