The usual way to say "How are you?" in Spanish is ¿Cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehs-TAHS) to a friend, or ¿Cómo está usted? to someone you address formally. ¿Qué tal? is a relaxed "How's it going?" that works with almost anyone, especially in Spain. A typical answer is Bien, gracias, ¿y tú? (Fine, thanks, and you?).
- Informal
- ¿Cómo estás?
- Formal
- ¿Cómo está usted?
- Casual
- ¿Qué tal?
- Answer
- Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
- Level
- A1
Should you say ¿cómo estás? or ¿cómo está?
It depends on whether you would call the person tú (informal) or usted (formal). The verb changes with it: estás for tú, está for usted. Speakers often drop the word usted, so ¿Cómo está? on its own is already formal.
| Spanish | Formality | Use it with |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Cómo estás? | Informal (tú) | Friends, family, children, people your own age |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | Formal (usted) | Older people, strangers, customers, at work |
| ¿Qué tal? | Neutral | Almost anyone; often a greeting more than a real question |
| ¿Cómo te va? | Informal | How's it going? How are things? |
| ¿Cómo le va? | Formal | The usted version of ¿cómo te va? |
| ¿Cómo estáis? | Informal, plural | A group of friends, in Spain |
| ¿Cómo están? | Plural | Any group in Latin America; a formal group in Spain |
Here is the informal version in a real Contos chapter. Marta has swapped lives with her twin for a week, and the handsome new neighbour has no idea:
Alejandro dice: "¡Hola, Sara! ¿Cómo estás?"Why is it estar and not ser?
Spanish has two verbs for "to be". Estar describes how someone is at the moment, so it is the one you need here. Asking ¿Cómo eres? with ser means "What are you like?", a question about someone's personality or looks.
¿Cómo estás?
How are you?
Estar: how you feel right now.
¿Cómo eres?
What are you like?
Ser: what kind of person you are.
Estoy un poco cansada.
I'm a bit tired.
A woman speaking; a man says cansado.
How do you answer ¿cómo estás?
Answer with estoy plus how you feel, or just the word on its own. It is polite to ask back: ¿y tú? informally, ¿y usted? formally.
Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
Fine, thanks, and you?
Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?
Very well, thank you. And you?
Formal.
Más o menos.
So-so.
Regular.
Not great.
Literally "average".
Fatal.
Awful.
Informal, very common in Spain.
¿Cómo va todo? (How's everything going?) is a friendly way to check in on someone you already know. It turns up in a Menorca pharmacy, said with a smile that the pharmacist doesn't trust:
¿Cómo va todo, cariño?How do people say it in Latin America?
¿Cómo estás? and ¿Qué tal? are understood everywhere. The main grammar difference is the plural: Latin America does not use vosotros, so a group of friends is ¿Cómo están? Informal greetings also vary from country to country.
- Argentina and Uruguay: ¿Cómo andás? (How are you doing?), using the vos form of andar.
- Mexico: ¿Qué onda? (What's up?) is very informal; ¿Cómo le va? is a polite everyday choice.
- Colombia: ¿Qué más? (literally "what else?") is a common casual greeting.
- Spain: ¿Qué pasa? (What's up?) between friends.
Read A1 Spanish stories where people greet each other like this, and tap any word for its meaning.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce ¿Cómo estás?
Say "KOH-moh ehs-TAHS". The accent marks show the stress: the first syllable of cómo and the last syllable of estás. Spanish vowels are short and clear, so cómo does not slide into "oh-oo".
Is ¿qué tal? formal or informal?
Neutral. You can say ¿Qué tal? to a friend, a neighbour or a shop assistant. It works as a greeting, and people often answer with a quick bien and move on.
Why does cómo have an accent?
Question words carry a written accent: cómo, qué, dónde, cuándo. Without the accent, como means "like" or "as", or "I eat" (from comer).
How do you ask a group how they are?
In Spain, ¿Cómo estáis? to friends and ¿Cómo están? to a group you address formally. In Latin America, ¿Cómo están? covers both.
Is it Spain Spanish or Latin American Spanish?
Both use ¿Cómo estás? and ¿Qué tal? This page follows Spain Spanish and notes the main Latin American differences.