{"id":70590,"date":"2023-04-17T17:11:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T21:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-are-you-in-italian\/"},"modified":"2024-07-28T20:44:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T00:44:31","slug":"how-are-you-in-italian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/how-are-you-in-italian\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways to Say \u201cHow Are You\u201d in Italian"},"content":{"rendered":"

After \u201chello<\/a>,\u201d the most common Italian phrase you\u2019ll hear will be some variation of \u201chow are you?\u201d But just one way of asking \u201chow are you?\u201d is a bit boring, don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n

So, I present to you 10 different ways to ask someone how they\u2019re doing in Italian, ranging from formal to familiar.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

1. Come sta? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Come sta?<\/em> is one of the two most common ways to ask how someone is in Italian.<\/p>\n

It literally means \u201cHow are you?\u201d, because come<\/em> translates to \u201chow\u201d and sta<\/em> is the Italian formal you<\/a> (Lei)<\/em> conjugation of stare<\/a><\/em>, which means \u201cto be.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the formal version of the phrase. It\u2019s used with people you don\u2019t know very well, or people like your teachers, professors, or other authority figures.<\/p>\n

So, for example, if you went outside your apartment and met your landlord on the sidewalk, you would ask him or her, \u201cCome sta?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You would typically use this after a polite but formal greeting like Salve<\/em> or buongiorno<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2. Come stai? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Come stai?<\/em> is the informal version of come sta<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It uses the familiar you<\/a> (tu)<\/em>\u00a0form of the verb, so this is the version of the phase you would use when speaking to your friends, family, or other people you know well.<\/p>\n

If your brother came over for dinner, for instance, you would ask him \u201ccome stai?\u201d<\/em> and not \u201ccome sta?\u201d<\/em>, since you two are close acquaintances and on a similar level of authority.<\/p>\n

3. Come state? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Not to bore you, but there is one more version of come sta?<\/em>\u00a0to learn!<\/p>\n

Come sta?<\/em> and come stai?<\/em> are both used when speaking to an individual, but come state?<\/em> is used when speaking to a group of two or more people.<\/p>\n

This would be equivalent to \u201chow are you all?\u201d or, like we say in my native Kentucky, \u201cHow\u2019re y\u2019all doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

It can be formal or informal, so you could use it when you meet up with your group of friends and want to ask everyone how they are doing, or you could use it with your supervisors at work to politely ask how they are before a meeting starts.<\/p>\n

4. Come va? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Come va?<\/em> is more informal, and can be translated as something more along the lines of \u201chow\u2019s it going?\u201d or \u201cwhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n

While this is usually more of a casual conversation starter, it\u2019s also a good phrase to use if you\u2019re chit-chatting with people you don\u2019t know very well yet.<\/p>\n

This is because it\u2019s technically neither formal nor informal. The translated verb here is va,<\/em> which comes from andare<\/em>, meaning \u201cto go.\u201d The va<\/em> refers to the thing that is \u201cgoing,\u201d not to any person performing an action, so it is therefore not affected by Italy\u2019s social rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, this is a great one to use if you just got introduced to a friend of a friend, and you\u2019re not sure if you guys have made it past the formal, polite, \u201cjust met\u201d stage yet.<\/p>\n

This can also be used in the middle of the conversation if things have hit a bit of a lull and you want to bring up a new topic by asking the person you are speaking to how things are going in their life.<\/p>\n

5. Come vanno le cose? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Like Come va?<\/em>, come vanno le cose?<\/em> is also both personal and impersonal, so you can use it with anyone regardless of how well you know them.<\/p>\n

Come vanno le cose?<\/em> means \u201chow are things going?\u201d and is a bit more specific than come va?<\/em>, which is kind of vague. (What exactly is \u201cit\u201d in the phrase \u201chow\u2019s it going?\u201d No one knows.)<\/p>\n

But while come va?<\/em> is lighter and more casual, if someone asks you \u201cCome vanno le cose?\u201d<\/em>, it usually means they really want to know how things are going in your life. They\u2019re asking how school is going or how work is going, how it\u2019s going with your new puppy, or whatever else is happening with you.<\/p>\n

6. Tutto bene? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Tutto bene?<\/em> means \u201cis everything good?\u201d or \u201cis everything alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

This one can also be either formal or informal, but is often used when you already know that, before now, it was not all bene<\/em> (good).<\/p>\n

While sometimes tutto bene?<\/em>, like come va?<\/em>, is asked in the same vein as \u201cwhat\u2019s up?\u201d, it\u2019s also sometimes used with at least mild concern.<\/p>\n

For example, you would ask someone \u201cTutto bene?\u201d<\/em> if you know they\u2019ve been going through a tough time and you want to see how they\u2019re holding up.<\/p>\n

You can also use it to ask if someone is okay if they haven\u2019t been answering your texts, in which case it would mean something more along the lines of \u201care you still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

7. Tutto a posto? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Tutto a posto?<\/em> is similar to tutto bene<\/em>. The literal meaning is \u201cis everything in place?\u201d but a better translation is \u201cis everything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is more often asked when someone is a bit worried, like if your friend shows up looking like they haven\u2019t slept for a week and you genuinely want to know if they\u2019re alright.<\/p>\n

Again, this one is neither formal nor informal, so you could ask your kid \u201cTutto a posto?\u201d<\/em> if they fall down and scrape their knee, or you could ask the same thing of a stranger if you see them trip on a sidewalk to make sure they didn\u2019t twist their ankle or need help.<\/p>\n

8. Come si sente? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Come si sente?<\/em> is less like \u201chow are you doing?\u201d and more like \u201chow are you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the formal version of the phrase, which you would use with people you aren\u2019t that familiar with, or to whom you want to show respect.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not usually used as a conversation starter like come sta?<\/em>, but is more of a way to check on someone if you know they haven\u2019t been feeling well.<\/p>\n

9. Come ti senti? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Come ti senti?<\/em> is, you guessed it, the informal version of come si sente<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s used with people you know well, which makes it a more common phrase. If you know your aunt is recovering from a cold, for instance, you could ask her \u201ccome ti senti oggi?\u201d <\/em>\u00a0(how do you feel today?).<\/p>\n

10. Novit\u00e0? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Novit\u00e0?<\/em> means simply, \u201cnews?\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a few of the other phrases I\u2019ve listed here, it includes no verb, so it is neither formal nor informal. However, you would almost never use this with someone you don\u2019t know very well.<\/p>\n

Basically, by saying \u201cNovit\u00e0?\u201d<\/em>, you\u2019re asking if the person you\u2019re speaking to has heard any news or if there are any updates to something going on in their life. In other words, you ask if there is news because you already know the \u201colds.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can also modify it slightly to ask \u201cQualche novit\u00e0?\u201d <\/em>,\u00a0which would translate to \u201cany news?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All of these greetings depend on context to be used appropriately. If you\u2019re ready to learn how Italian is spoken outside of the classroom, but can\u2019t make it to Italy yet, you could try using a language learning program like FluentU<\/a> to immerse yourself in authentic Italian.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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