How to Respond to "¿Cómo estás?"

“Everything’s good” is a slightly more casual way to respond. “Todo bien” and “muy bien” are both ways of saying that you’re doing well, so feel free to use either. Follow this up by saying “gracias para preguntar” (“thanks for asking”) before asking the same question in response.^[2]

• “¿Todo bien?” can also be used as a question when you want to ask if everything is alright. You might hear this phrase from a waiter in a restaurant, for example.

If you’re feeling particularly great, try one of these expressions. “Super” translates to (no surprise!) “super,” “excellente” translates to “excellent,” and “buenísimo”/“buenísima” translate to “fantastic.”^[3]

• Spanish is a gendered language, which means certain adjectives, like “buenísimo”/“buenísima,” have different endings depending on the gender of the noun they describe. Since you’re describing yourself, use “buenísimo” if you’re a man and “buenísima” if you’re a woman.

Use this expression if you have good news to share. It translates to “very happy!”, and can be used to start a story about something good that happened to you. For example, a conversation might go something like: “¿Cómo estás?”, “¡Muy feliz! Estoy comenzando un nuevo trabajo hoy.” (“Very happy! I’m starting a new job today.”)^[4]

There are plenty of expressions to say things are just going okay. “Más o menos” roughly translates to “so-so”, and is a common expression for when you’re just doing alright. You can also try one of these expressions instead: “Regular”/“Normal” (“I’m doing okay”) or “Igual que siempre” (“Same as always”).^[5]

Try out this expression if you’re busy with work or other responsibilities. It translates to “very busy,” and is another typical response to “¿Cómo estás?”. You can also say something like “Tengo mucho trabajo” (“I have a lot of work”) to get at the same meaning, or just to switch things up.^[6]

If you didn’t get enough sleep, try out this expression. “Un poco cansado/cansada” translates to “a little tired,” and is another typical response to “¿Cómo estás?”. Remember to use the adjective that corresponds to your gender, meaning men should say “cansado,” and women “cansada.”^[7]

• If you’re feeling a bit more confident with your Spanish skills, add some more detail to your response. For example, say something like, “Un poco cansado. No dormí mucho anoche.” (“A little tired. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

If you’ve caught a cold or other minor illness, use this expression. It translates to “A little sick,” and is common when you’re dealing with a virus or other bug. Men should use the masculine form, “enfermo,” and women should say “enferma.”^[8]

• If someone knows that you’ve been sick, they might ask you “¿Cómo estás?” to inquire about how you’ve been feeling since you last spoke to them. In that case, you can say “Un poco mejor” (“A bit better”) or “Estoy igual de enfermo” (“I’m still sick”).

If things haven’t been good, this word is handy. It translates to “bad,” and is another standard response to “¿Cómo estás?”. If you tell someone that you’re not doing well, be ready to explain why—you might say something like “Mal. Estoy un poco enfermo.” (“Bad. I’m a little sick”) Some other words you can use to express this idea are “horrible” (“horrible”) or “fatal” (“awful”).^[9]

If you have sad news to share, use this expression. It means “A little sad”, and can be used to introduce a story about some unfortunate news. For example, you might say something like “Un poco triste. Mi novio me dejó ayer” (“A little sad. My boyfriend dumped me yesterday).^[10]