If you are wondering how to say "How are you?" in Spanish, the standard, casual way of doing so is: ¿Cómo estás? However, there are many more ways to say "How are you?" in Spanish, and this lesson will cover many of the most common.
As we just mentioned, ¿Cómo estás? is the best-known, informal way of saying "How are you?" in Spanish. But, how do you say "How are you?" in formal Spanish? In that case, you will need to address the other person using the formal form of "you," usted:
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you?
Caption 25, Cleer y Lida Saludar en español
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That said, as there are many ways to say "you" in Spanish, let's take a look at how to say "How are you?" in Spanish with the forms of estar (to be) that correspond to each of the additional subject pronouns that mean "you": vos (singular, informal "you" in certain regions), vosotros/as (informal plural "you" in Spain), and ustedes (the prevalent plural "you" in most countries).
Bien. ¿Cómo estás vos?
Fine. How are you?
Caption 30, Muñeca Brava 18 - La Apuesta - Part 6
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Note that while the verb conjugations for vos and tú typically differ, in the case of estar, they are exactly the same.
¿Cómo estáis?
How are you?
Caption 3, Isabel Lavesa Dibujo en acuarela
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Hola, amigos de Yabla. ¿Cómo están?
Hello, friends of Yabla. How are you?
Captions 1-2, María Fernanda Mascarilla de aguacate
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You may have noticed that the subject pronoun (vos) is only explicitly stated in the first of the three examples since doing so is optional in Spanish, where specific verb conjugations usually let us know who is being addressed or spoken about.
Just like in English you can use alternatives such as "How's it going?" "What's up?" "What's going on?" etc., there are a plethora of more slangy ways to say "How are you?" in Spanish. Let's look at several.
The English translations for ¿Qué tal? range from "How are you?" to "How's it going?" and "What's up?" Let's hear it in action:
Por ejemplo, si yo digo: ¿Qué tal?
For example, if I say: How's it going?
Caption 2, Curso de español ¿Qué tal? Ni bien ni mal...
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As a side note, although bien (well) and mal (poorly) are typical answers to this question, the video ¿Qué tal? Ni bien ni mal will give you several ways to say you're somewhere in between.
While ¿Qué hay? could be used to literally ask "What is there?" or "What's available?" it can also be used to ask someone "What's up?" or "What's going on?"
¿Qué hay, amigo?
What's up, friend
You might also hear the following variation:
¿Qué hay de nuevo, compadre?
What's new, buddy?
And, if you want to sound like a true Colombian, you can try this alternative version of ¿Qué hay? with the verb haber in the preterite tense instead of the present tense (literally meaning "What was there?"). Notice the slangy spelling/pronunciation variation in the second example.
"Ey, ¿qué hubo pues, paisa? ¿Todo bien o qué, hombre?"
"Hey, what's up, buddy? [Is] everything good or what, man?"
Caption 16, Español en las calles Varias expresiones
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¿Quiubo, quiubo, linda? ¿Cómo vas?
What's up, what's up, beautiful? How are you?
Caption 3, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 4 - Part 8
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As you might have noticed, the last example above contained yet another way to say "How are you?" in Spanish: ¿Cómo vas?
Another option for saying "How are you?" in Spanish, "¿Cómo te va?" might also be translated as "How's it going for you?" Of course, you should use the appropriate indirect object pronoun (te, le, les, or os) to correspond to the form of "you" you're intending, or just omit it entirely and just say ¿Cómo va? (How's it going?). Let's hear a couple of examples:
¿Y cómo te va?
And how are you?
Caption 38, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 8 - Part 1
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¿Cómo les va?
How is it going for you?
Caption 4, Misión Chef 1 La selección - Part 3
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Now, let's hear a straightforward Spanish translation of the English phrase "How's everything going?"
¿Cómo va todo?
How's everything going?
Caption 18, Festivaliando Mono Núñez - Part 13
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"¿Cómo van las cosas?" is a similar expression that literally means "How are things going?"
The verb andar, which literally means "to walk," appears in the common expression "¿Cómo andas?" which can be heard in many countries but is particularly common in Argentina (with vos, of course!).
En Argentina, saludamos así: "Hola, che. ¿Cómo andás? ¿Todo bien?"
In Argentina, we greet [people] like this: "Hello, hey. How's it going? [Is] everything good?"
Caption 10, Español en las calles Varias expresiones
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As you can see in the last example, "todo bien?" is an additional manner of asking someone how they are and is the equivalent of such English expressions as "All good?" "Is everything OK?" or even "How's it going?"
One of the best-known ways to say "What's going on?" in Spanish is, of course, "¿Qué pasa?" This phrase can be employed to ask "what's going on" with someone in a general sense, or to inquire about a particular situation.
¿Qué pasa?
What's going on?
Caption 1, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 3 - Sam aprende a ligar - Part 2
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Our final "How are you?" in Spanish equivalent for today is "¿Qué (me) cuentas?" which literally means, "What do you tell (me)?" but serves as another manner of asking someone "What's new?" You may hear it either with or without the me.
And these are just a handful of the many, less formal ways to say "How are you?" in Spanish, which vary widely between regions and individuals. Are you familiar with any others? How do you say "How are you?" in Spanish? Let us know with your suggestions and comments!
How many question words in Spanish are you familiar with? Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Asking questions is one of the most important skills you need to master in the language you are learning. In this lesson, we will learn the most important interrogative words in Spanish. However, before we explore those words, let's discuss a couple of things about asking questions in Spanish.
'Pregunta' is how you say the word 'question' in Spanish. 'Pregunta' is a feminine noun and its plural form is 'preguntas'. Let's practice the pronunciation of this term:
Kevin, la pregunta es:
Kevin, the question is:
Caption 13, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1
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Los voy a dejar con cuatro preguntas.
I am going to leave you with four questions.
Caption 48, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros
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Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Let's take a look at the basic structure of a question in Spanish.
To begin with, you need to stick to the rules of Spanish punctuation. Because of that, when you write a question in Spanish you need to remember that question marks are always double-sided. In other words, you need to start the question with an opening question mark (¿) and end it with a closing one (?):
¿Cómo es Japón?
What's Japan like?
¿Qué te gusta de Japón?
What do you like about Japan?
Captions 69-70, Clase Aula Azul - Pedir deseos
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Let's start with simple questions. Believe it or not, for these kinds of questions your intonation is what matters the most. You basically make Yes/No questions by transforming a statement into a question. The Spanish question structure for these kinds of questions is the following:
¿ + (subject) + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?
Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:
A Pedro le gusta comer pizza. (Pedro likes to eat pizza.)
¿A Pedro le gusta comer pizza? (Does Pedro like to eat pizza?)
For negative questions, you just need to place a "no" before the conjugated verb.
No quieres estudiar. (You don't want to study.)
¿No quieres estudiar? (Don't you want to study?)
Go ahead and play the following clips so you can hear the intonation of the following Yes/No questions. Notice how the pitch of the speaker's voice gets higher at the end of the sentence when asking questions in Spanish:
Mmm... ¿Quieres ir al cine?
Mmm... Do you want to go to the movies?
-Sí, ¡buena idea!
-Yes, good idea!
Captions 45-46, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 5: Me gusta mucho este parque.
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¿Necesitas ayuda?
Do you need help?
-Mmm... Sí.
-Mmm... Yes.
Captions 9-10, Español para principiantes - La hora
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¿No conoces Manhattan?
You don't know Manhattan?
Caption 37, Yago - 2 El puma
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As you can see, it is very common to start Yes/No questions with a conjugated verb.
The following is the Spanish question structure you need to keep mind when your question is aimed at getting some sort of information:
¿ + (preposition) + question word + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?
Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:
¡Oh! ¿Dónde está el cajero automático?
Oh! Where's the ATM?
Caption 36, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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In the example above, we have the following structure:
¿ + question word (dónde) + conjugated verb (está) + additional information (el cajero automático) + ?
Let's listen to another clip:
¿Desde cuándo tienes este piso?
Since when have you had this apartment?
Caption 35, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos
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In this last example, the Spanish question structure is the following:
¿ + preposition (desde) + question word (cuándo) + conjugated verb (tienes) + additional information (este piso) + ?
Now that we have seen the structure of a question, let's take a look at some Spanish question words in sentences.
It's time to review the most important interrogative words in Spanish. If you are thinking about WH questions, you are right. Let's find out what the Spanish question words are for 'what', 'which', 'when', 'where', 'who', 'why' and 'how'.
For your reference, here's a list of the top question words in Spanish.
What / Which (Qué / Cuál)
When (Cuándo)
Where (Dónde)
Who (Quién)
Why (Por qué)
How (Cómo)
Now, let's see each one of these question words in action with a list of some of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask.
And now, let's dive into our list.
What / Which (Qué / Cuál)
Diremos, "¿Qué hora es?"
We'll say, "What time is it?"
Caption 49, Español para principiantes - La hora
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O, ¿A qué te dedicas?
Or, What do you do? [with "tú"].
Caption 17, Karla e Isabel - Tú y Usted
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Oye, y ¿en qué trabajas?
Hey, and what do you do [for a living]?
Caption 82, Ricardo - La compañera de casa
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Por supuesto; ¿cuál es su dirección de correo?
Of course; what is your e-mail address?
Caption 69, Negocios - Empezar en un nuevo trabajo
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¿Recuerdas cuál era la copa para servir vino?
Do you remember which cup was the one for serving wine?
Caption 36, Ana Carolina - El comedor
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When (Cuándo)
¿Y cuándo hizo el "check-in"?
And when did he check-in?
Caption 13, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3
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¿Cuándo terminas de estudiar?
When do you finish studying?
Caption 72, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conjugación
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Where (Dónde)
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
Caption 36, Curso de español - ¿De dónde eres?
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Y ¿en dónde vives?
And where do you live?
Caption 8, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Let's see a couple of clips from Raquel to see the kind of questions you ask when you want to find out where something is located:
¿Me podrías decir dónde está el baño?
Could you tell me where the bathroom is?
Caption 7, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.
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¿Sabes dónde hay alguna farmacia?
Do you know where there's a pharmacy?
Caption 24, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.
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Who (Quién)
We use 'who' when we want to find out someone's identity. Let's see a couple of examples:
Mi jugador favorito juega en el Real Madrid.
My favorite player plays for Real Madrid.
¿Quién es?
Who is it?
Captions 19-20, El Aula Azul - Las Profesiones
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¿Usted quién es?
Who are you?
Roberto. Un amigo.
Roberto. A friend.
Captions 24-25, Yago - 9 Recuperación
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Why (Por qué)
¿Por qué dices eso? -No...
Why are you saying that? -No...
Caption 14, Cortometraje - Beta
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How (Cómo)
Para saludar, podemos decir: "Hola. ¿Cómo estás? ¿Todo bien?"
To greet (people), we can say: "Hello. How are you? (Is) everything good?"
Caption 7, Español en las calles - Varias expresiones
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Keep in mind that the word 'cómo' is not always translated as the English word 'how'. In fact, one of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask is a good example of that:
Buenos días, ¿cómo te llamas?
Good morning, what's your name?
Caption 8, La rutina diaria - La mañana
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When we want to find out someone's age or the price of an object, we combine 'how' with other words such as 'old' or 'much'. When we want to get that kind of information, we use other interrogative words in Spanish. Let's take a look:
Ah, lindo.
Oh, nice.
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
Captions 33-34, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico
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¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you?
Caption 6, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila
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Ah, vale. ¿Cuántos hijos tienes?
Oh, OK. How many sons do you have?
Caption 39, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer
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¿Y cuántas botellas de agua hay aquí?
And how many bottles of water are there here?
Caption 78, Español para principiantes - Los números del 1 al 100
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And that's it for now. We hope you use this review of the most important Spanish question words as the perfect excuse to start asking questions in Spanish. Are you ready? We encourage you to do that and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
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