Learn how to ask about well-being
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| Welcome to Can-Do Spanish by SpanishPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about well-being in Spanish. |
| For example, "How are you?" is |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Valeria Valera is in the office breakroom. |
| She greets Jorge Soto Aguilar , a colleague, and asks about his well-being. |
| Before you listen to the conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| bien |
| "fine" |
| bien |
| bien |
| Listen to the conversation and focus on the question. |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| "How are you?" |
| Bien, gracias. |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| First, do you remember how Valeria asks, |
| "How are you?" |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| First is cómo, "how." Cómo. Cómo. |
| Next is estás, " are." Estás. Estás. |
| Note, estás is a shortened form of tú estás, “you are.” In Spanish, tú, “you,” is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context. |
| Estás is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be." Estár. |
| All together, it's ¿Cómo estás? "How are ?" ¿Cómo estás? |
| Note the rising intonation to mark that it’s a question. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Jorge says, |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| Jorge Soto Aguilar : Bien, gracias. |
| "Fine, thank you." Bien, gracias. |
| First is bien, "fine." Bien. Bien. |
| Here, bien is the shortened form of Yo estoy bien. “I’m fine.” Yo estoy bien. |
| Yo estoy is omitted, as it is understood from context. |
| Estoy is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be." Estár. |
| Next is, gracias, meaning "thank you." Gracias. Gracias. |
| All together, it’s Bien, gracias. "Fine, thank you." |
| Bien, gracias. |
| The question ¿Cómo estás? can be used in informal situations. |
| However, for formal situations, use the following pattern. |
| ¿Cómo está usted? "How are you?" ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Simply replace estás, the informal version of "you are," with está usted, the formal version of "you are." |
| First is the word, está, literally "is," but translates as "are," as in "you are" for formal situations. Está. Está. |
| Está is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be" in Spanish. Estár. |
| Next is the word usted, the formal word for "you." Usted. Usted. |
| All together, it’s ¿Cómo está usted? "How are you?" ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Note that when asking about one’s well being in formal situations, the word for "you," usted, is included. |
| Imagine you’re Sonia Hernández , Hugo's Spanish teacher. Ask about Hugo’s well-being using formal Spanish. |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| "How are you?" |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| For the response, both of the following are okay: |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Estoy bien, gracias. |
| In Spanish, there are two verbs that translate as “to be:” ser and estár. When talking about well being, use estar. |
| So when responding to ¿Cómo estás? “How are you?” |
| Always use the verb estar, as in estoy bien. “I’m fine.” |
| Let's look at some more examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Bien, gracias. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| "How are you?" |
| Bien, gracias. |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Muy bien. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| "How are you?" |
| Muy bien. |
| "Very good." |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Bien, gracias. |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| "How are you?" |
| Bien, gracias. |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Más o menos. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| "How are you?" |
| Más o menos. |
| "So-so." |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Bien, ¿y tú? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| "How are you?" |
| Bien, ¿y tú? |
| "Fine. And you?" |
| Did you notice how the native speaker added the phrase ¿y tú? |
| Bien, ¿y tú? |
| “Fine, and you?” |
| First is bien, “fine.” Bien. |
| Again, bien is the shortened form of Yo estoy bien. “I’m fine.” |
| Next is ¿y tú? “And you?” ¿Y tú? |
| First is y. "And." Y. Y. |
| Next is tú, an informal word meaning "you." Tú. Tú. |
| Together, it’s ¿y tú? meaning "and you?" ¿Y tú? |
| You can use this phrase to reciprocate the question when someone asks you about your well being. |
| For example, if someone says, |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| You can respond with, |
| Bien, ¿y tú? |
| First, respond to the question. Then inquire about the other person’s well being with ¿y tú? “And you?” |
| Note, as tú, “you,” is informal, this expression is appropriate for informal situations. |
| Remember this pattern, Bien, ¿y tú? You’ll see it again later. |
| Let's review the key vocabulary. |
| Muy bien. |
| "Very good." |
| Muy bien. |
| Muy bien. |
| Más o menos. |
| "So-so." |
| Más o menos. |
| Más o menos. |
| Let’s review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember the word for "how?" |
| Cómo. |
| Cómo. |
| Do you remember how Valeria Varela asks, |
| "How are you?" |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Do you remember how to say "fine?" |
| Bien. |
| Bien. |
| And how to say |
| "Thank you." |
| Gracias. |
| Gracias. |
| Do you remember how Jorge Soto says, |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Do you remember how to say, "And you?" |
| ¿y tú? |
| ¿y tú? |
| And how to say |
| "Very good." |
| Muy bien. |
| Muy bien. |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you’re Jorge , Hugo’s colleague. Ask how Hugo is doing using informal Spanish. |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Muy bien. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're the Hurtado family's Spanish teacher, Sonia Hernandez. Ask about Hugo’s well-being using formal Spanish. |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Lucas , and you meet your friend at school. |
| Respond by saying, “Fine. And you?” |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Bien, ¿y tú? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask About Well-Being unit of this course. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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