"Are you good?"
Translation:Es-tu bon ?
36 Comments
142
I think something being 'good' and something 'going' is slightly different. The difference is subtle and subjective when deciding what is good and what is bad. But 'ca va' implies that it is going, not necessarily that it is good. =] Hope that helps.
The French equivalent of "how are you?" is «ça va?»
However, the phrase is also used in other contexts. For example, say we're playing a sport and I accidentally trip you. In English, I'd say "are you okay?" or, more casually, "you good?". The French equivalent is also «ça va?»
The phrase is rarely used in contexts outside of asking how somebody is doing/feeling.
no, not the same meaning at all. "es-tu bon/bonne" refers to how good you are at doing something.
Exactly. The ambiguity here is with the English not the French: "are you good" when not followed by "at something" means "are you well", which is, granted, a colloquialism, but it's still a more accurate interpretation of the phrase. Maybe we're over-complicating things....!
"Tu es bonne" is a really pick up line! "Are you good?" means "Tout va bien?"
Es-tu sage means good as in well-behaved. The prompt sentence has no clear meaning in English.
imagine this : "I'll go skying next week" - "are you good?" - "yes, I am good at skying"
"good" may mean "kind", "virtuous", "well-mannered" (child, etc..)...
Isn't "bon" the same in French as well?.
Here everyone talks about "good at doing something".
sense #2: (Idée de bonté) (Personnes) Qui veut du bien, fait du bien à autrui (après le nom, surtout attribut). è charitable, clément, compréhensif, généreux, humain, indulgent, magnanime, secourable. Cet homme est bon, bon comme le pain, comme du bon pain. Elle est trop bonne. è bonasse, faible. Le bon Dieu. Le bon Samaritain.
Le Nouveau Petit Robert de la langue française.
Why are the translations in the "tu" form? Just curious, I don't know very much about French, and it doesn't specify one or the other. Or does it do this on an intro page that I've missed?
Because "vous" is like saying "you" to your grandparents, out of respect. The "tu" form is you when you are well acquainted with someone, like friends. Most of the books etc only teach "vous" so I'm happy to see "tu" for a change.
Bon is a quality and bien is a state. In the simplest way possible. Yes, there are exceptions but for this particular sentence and context it is as such.
Duolingo lists "Es-tu bon", "Es-tu bonne" and "Êtes-vous bons" as correct. Am I right in thinking the first is masculine singular, the second feminine singular, and the latter masculine plural?
Yes, you are correct. «Tu» is always singular. «Vous» is formal singular, formal plural, and informal plural. You can infer the gender of the antecedent from the construction of the adjective - «bon» is masculine and «bonne» is feminine.
Agree with the above speakers: taken out of context, "Are you good?" would mean the same as "Are you well?" which would correspond to "ça va" rather than "es-tu bon/bonne".
«Es-tu bien» literally translates to "Are you well?", while the question was asking "Are you good?". Silly question, really, and their answer is equally silly.
The French only rarely use the adverb «bien» with «être»...The correct translation is «Ça va bien?»
"es-tu bien ?" mostly means "are you comfortable ?". "tu n'es pas bien ?" depending on context may mean: "do you feel unwell ?" or "are you crazy?"
if you say to a child 'are you good?' the correcct translation in french is 'es-tu sage?' or 'tu es sage?'
"Are you good" is a common way of asking "How are you doing?" Ca va should be acceptable. The problem is that "are you good" has different meanings based on the context.
So how exactly are you supposed to know which one to use? I was really thinking "ça va?" or "ça va bien?
You're exactly right, those are the ones you should use. «Es-tu bon» isn't correct.
