Ça va (pronounced sah-vah) is a short, versatile phrase essential to French conversations. These two little words can form a question, a statement, a greeting, and an expression of how you’re doing. The most common usage is as an informal way to ask someone how they are doing—a shortened version of Comment ça va ? We’ll break down all the nuances of what this phrase can mean and when to use it, but the most important thing to remember is that ça va is a casual greeting or response.
After you learn the many ça va meanings, join a Rosetta Stone tutoring session to get real-time feedback on your pronunciation and tone from an expert French tutor. You can also practice using other basic French phrases in your conversation.
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What does ça va mean?
From the literal translation to the variety of expressions that use it, we’ll help you understand all the meanings of ça va.
Literal translation of ça va
Ça va literally means “it goes” or “that goes.” It’s commonly used as an informal greeting. But the expressions that include this phrase can drift a little further from that literal meaning. Comment ça va ? literally translates to “How’s it going?”
How to use ça va as a question
Comment ça va ? is a common informal way to ask someone how they’re doing in French. Shortening this question to simply Ça va? is completely acceptable in informal situations. Whether you use the longer or shorter question, it’s roughly equivalent to Comment vas-tu ? (“How are you?”)—tu is the informal “you” in French reserved for close friends and family.
Some equivalent questions in English include:
- How are you?
- How are things?
- Are you okay?
How to use ça va as a statement
Ça va is also commonly used as a statement—sometimes even in response to the question Ça va ? You can think of responding to Ça va ? with Ça va as the French equivalent of someone asking you, “How’s it going?” and you responding, “It’s going.”
Responding with ça va can mean:
- I’m fine.
- I’m good.
- It’s okay.
- It’s going okay.
When can you use ça va in a conversation?
Formality level is one common element among most French dialects. When you’re greeting your professors, the CEO of your workplace, or any older person you’re not related to, you use a greeting with vous (formal “you”). With friends, family, and peers you meet in informal settings, greetings with tu (informal “you”) are more appropriate. Some slang or shortened greetings are only appropriate for very close friends and family.
Ça va, whether used as a question or a statement, is an informal but not necessarily intimate phrase. It’s just as appropriate to use it when you’re meeting new peers in informal settings as it is with friends and family. So, you can use it in situations when you would consistently use tu and not vous for one person.
If you’re talking to someone who has authority over you or are meeting new people in a formal setting, opt for a more formal greeting like Comment allez-vous ? (“How are you?”). Use Comment vas-tu ? when using vous is too formal but Comment ça va ? is too casual.
Examples of how to use ça va in conversations
Seeing the different uses of ça va in common expressions and conversational use can help you use it appropriately. You’ll notice that in some negated expressions ne is dropped from the ne…pas: This is common in informal speech.
Examples of asking about someone’s well-being with ça va
These questions all ask someone about their well-being. Asking Ça va ? at the end of a sentence is like asking, “Is that okay?” It’s a way to check in with the other person about whatever you just told them.
| French | English |
| Ça te va ? | Does that work for you? |
| Ça va comme tu veux ? | Is it going the way you want? |
| Ça va bien ? | Is it going well? |
| Ça va aller ? | Will it be okay? / Will that work? |
| Ça va si…? | Is it okay if…? |
Examples of talking about your own well-being with ça va
If you want to elaborate a little more on how you’re doing, these are things you can say:
| French | English |
| Ça va bien. | It’s going well. |
| Ça va très bien. | It’s going very well. |
| Ça va mal. | It’s going badly. |
| Ça va pas terrible. | It’s not going so well. |
| Ça va super. | It’s going great. |
| Ça ne va pas. | I’m not doing well. |
| Ça va pas. | I’m not doing well. (very informal) |
| Ça va aller. | I’ll be okay. |
| Ça va bien se passer. | It’s going to be fine. |
| Ça va, et toi ? | I’m fine. And you? (informal) |
Examples of speaking about a current or future problem with ça va
Ça va isn’t just a greeting: French speakers also use it within other sentences to complain and talk about potential outcomes of actions they, or other people, have taken. These examples of expressions that use ça va can be used to talk about a problem that you are either currently experiencing or about to experience in the future:
| French | English |
| Ça va pas ! | No way! |
| Ça va pas la tête ! | You’re out of your mind! |
| Ça te va bien. | You’re one to talk. |
| Non mais ça va pas ou quoi ? | Are you crazy? |
| Ça va mal aller. | It’s not going to go well. |
| Ça va être sa fête. | They’re going to get it. |
| Ça va mal finir. | It’s going to end badly. |
| Ça ne va plus du tout. | Everything is going wrong. |
| Ça va lui/leur passer. | He/she will get over it. |
| Ça va me faire quelque chose. | It won’t be the same anymore. |
| Ça va barder. | It will break loose. |
Examples of discussing feelings and opinions with ça va
Ça va is also frequently used in expressions for discussing feelings and opinions. Some of these expressions are good for encouraging a loved one. Others are good for telling someone off. Here are a few expressions that aren’t necessarily complaints but do express various feelings and opinions:
| French | English |
| Ça va aller. | It’ll be okay. |
| Ça va aller mieux. | It will go better. |
| Ça va mieux. | It is going better. |
| Ça va te plaire. | You’ll love it. |
| Ça te va bien. | It suits you well. |
| Ça lui/leur va bien. | It suits him/her well. |
| Ça va pas, non ? | That’s not okay. |
| Bon, ben, ça va. | Well, okay. |
| Ça va sans dire. | It goes without saying. |
| Ça va venir. | It will come. / It will happen. |
| Oh ! Ça va ! | Enough! |
Phrases similar to ça va
Sure, ça va is a useful pair of words, but you don’t want to use it all the time. There are many French questions and statements with similar meanings you can use as substitutes.
Alternative questions to Ça va ?
These questions are similar in intent to ça va ?, but they are slightly more formal:
| French | English |
| Comment tu te portes ? | How do you feel? |
| Comment vous portez-vous ? | How are you feeling? |
| Quoi de nouveau ? | What’s new with you? |
| Tu vas bien ? | Are you doing well? (informal) |
| Vous allez bien ? | Are you doing well? (formal) |
These alternative phases are slang and best used with your friends and peers in casual settings:
| French | English |
| Quoi de neuf ? | What’s new? |
| Ça roule ? | What’s up? |
| T’es bien ? | You good? |
Alternative phrases to ça va
These are statements of how you’re doing that are similar to ça va. They correspond to the slightly more formal questions:
| French | English |
| Je vais bien. | I’m doing well. |
| Je vais très bien. | I’m doing very well. |
| Je suis content. | I’m happy. |
| Super. | Great. |
| Tout va bien. | It’s all going well. / Everything is going well. |
| Comme si comme ça. | So-so. |
These responses correspond to the slang questions:
| French | English |
| Pas mal. | Not bad. |
| Ça roule. | It’s rolling. (slang) |
| Tranquille. | Chill. / Easy. (slang) |
| Nickel. | Great. (slang) |
| Bof. | Meh. (slang) |
| Moyen / Bof-bof | So-so. (slang) |
Other French greetings
Looking for more ways to say hello in French? Here are some more French greetings:
| French | English |
| Bonjour. | Hello. / Good day. |
| Bonsoir. | Good evening. |
| Rebonjour. | Hello again. |
| Salut. | Hello. (informal) |
| Allô. | Hello. (answering the phone) |
| Bienvenue. | Welcome. |
| Coucou. | Hey. (informal, intimate) |
| Enchanté. | Nice to meet you. |
| Tiens ! | There you are! |
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