App StoreStart speaking

How to say how are you in Spanish

How are you in Spanish is ¿cómo estás? (KOH-moh ehs-TAHS) with friends and people your age, or ¿cómo está usted? with someone older or in a formal setting. A typical answer is bien, gracias, ¿y tú?

Practice it with a tutor
As seen on TikTok
Learning Spanish
  • 102.8K likes
  • 737 comments
  • 22.9K shares
@brittslowlyfluenti just wanted to learn spanish 😭🥀1.8M views
Learning French
  • 112.3K likes
  • 1.4K comments
  • 128.7K shares
@liv.slowlyfluentTooter, how do you say “a baby seal pushed me” in French? 😭2.5M views
Learning Korean
  • 95.6K likes
  • 1.5K comments
  • 20.1K shares
@learningwithwallakpuHow to say “sorry” in Korean?1.4M views
Your turn: try saying¿Cómo estás?

Where will you ask ¿cómo estás?

Pick one to start your plan. It takes about a minute.

Phrases

Every way to ask how are you

Pick tú or usted first, then choose how casual you want to sound.

¿Cómo estás?How are you?
casual

Friends, classmates, people your age.

¿Cómo está usted?How are you?
formal

Older people, officials, anyone you'd call sir or ma'am.

¿Qué tal?How's it going?
casual

Works almost anywhere, even with acquaintances. Often after hola.

¿Cómo te va?How's it going (for you)?
casual

Friendly and relaxed.

¿Cómo le va?How's it going?
formal

The usted version of ¿cómo te va?

¿Cómo has estado?How have you been?
casual

When you haven't seen someone in a while.

¿Qué onda?What's up?
slang

Mexico and Central America, among friends. Also common in Argentina and Chile.

¿Quiubo?What's up?
slang

Short for ¿qué hubo? (also spelled quihubo). Heard in Colombia, Mexico and Chile among friends.

Practice these out loud with a tutor
In a conversation

Catching up with a coworker

Running into a colleague on a Friday morning.

Valentina
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?Hi! How are you?
You
Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?Very well, thanks. And you?
Valentina
Un poco cansada, pero bien.A little tired, but good.
You
¿Mucho trabajo?Lots of work?
Valentina
Sí, ¡pero ya es viernes!Yes, but it's Friday already!
Say it right

Getting ¿cómo estás? right

Use estar for feelings

¿Cómo estás? uses estar, the verb for how you are right now. ¿Cómo eres? uses ser and asks what you're like as a person, which is a different question.

Choose tú or usted

Estás is for tú (casual), está is for usted (formal). If you're unsure with an older person, start with usted and let them invite you to use tú.

Mind the accent marks

Cómo and estás both take accents. Without one, esta means this, so ¿Cómo esta? is a spelling mistake.

Say estoy bien, not estoy bueno

Estoy bien means I'm fine. Estoy bueno is about looks (I'm hot) in many countries, so it can get a laugh.

Replies

How to answer

Give a short answer, then hand the question back.

  • Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?Fine, thanks. And you?
    polite

    The classic answer. With usted: ¿Y usted?

  • Muy bien.Very well.
    polite

    Upbeat and safe with anyone.

  • Todo bien.All good.
    casual

    Relaxed, for friends and coworkers.

  • Más o menos.So-so.
    casual

    Honest without going into detail. Expect a follow-up: ¿Qué pasó?

  • Aquí, tranquilo / tranquila.Oh, you know, taking it easy.
    casual

    Common in Latin America. Tranquilo for a male speaker, tranquila for a female.

  • Un poco cansado / cansada.A little tired.
    casual

    Cansado for a male speaker, cansada for a female.

  • No muy bien, la verdad.Not great, to be honest.
    casual

    For a friend who really wants to know.

Your tutors

Say it out loud with a Spanish tutor

Lifelike AI tutors play the other person and correct you as you speak. Pick one to start.

Sofianatural correctionPractice with Sofia Luciafluency-drivenPractice with Lucia Valeriascenario-ledPractice with Valeria Albarhythm-awarePractice with Alba Carmenconversation-firstPractice with Carmen Claratravel-focusedPractice with Clara Martaculture-richPractice with Marta Elenaconfidence-buildingPractice with Elena
FAQ

Questions learners ask

How do you respond when someone asks how are you in Spanish?

Say bien, gracias, ¿y tú? (fine, thanks, and you?), or ¿y usted? to someone you address formally. A Tooter tutor will ask you this at the start of a chat, so you can practice answering out loud.

What does ¿cómo está? mean?

It means how are you? when you speak to someone as usted, the polite form. It can also mean how is he or how is she: ¿Cómo está tu mamá? (how's your mom?).

What can I say instead of estoy bien?

Try muy bien (very well), todo bien (all good), bastante bien (pretty good) or aquí, tranquilo (taking it easy). If things aren't great, más o menos (so-so) is honest and polite.

How do I reply when someone says estoy bien?

Say qué bueno (good to hear) or me alegro (I'm glad). Then keep the chat going with a question of your own.

Can I say estoy bueno?

Better not. Estoy bien means I'm fine, but estoy bueno is usually understood as I'm hot (good-looking). Use bien for how you feel.

What are all the ways to say you in Spanish?

Tú is casual and usted is formal. Vos replaces tú in Argentina, Uruguay and much of Central America, where you'll hear ¿cómo andás? For groups, Latin America uses ustedes (¿cómo están?) and Spain also uses vosotros (¿cómo estáis?) with friends.

How do Mexicans say hey, how are you?

Among friends, ¿qué onda? or ¿quiubo? With anyone else, hola, ¿cómo estás? or hola, ¿qué tal? To get someone's attention, oye means hey.

What does muy bien, ¿y tú? mean in English?

It means very well, and you? It's the classic reply to ¿cómo estás?, and it hands the question back politely.

Keep going
Join the learners filming their Tooter practice on TikTok Follow @tooter.app

Ask a tutor ¿cómo estás? today.

Answer a few quick questions, then practice out loud with a tutor.

Start speaking Download on theApp Store

Updated October 29, 2026. Tooter tutors are AI characters, not human teachers.