How to Ask About Well-Being

Learn how to ask about well-being

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Italian by ItalianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about well-being in Italian.

For example, "How are you?" is

Come stai?

Emily Erba is in the office breakroom.

She greets Matteo Marino , a colleague, and asks about his well-being.

Before you listen to the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

bene

"well"

bene

Listen to the conversation and focus on the question.

Ready?

Come stai?

Sto bene, grazie.

Once more with the English translation.

Come stai?

"How are you?"

Sto bene, grazie.

"I'm well, thank you."

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.

First, do you remember how Emily asks,

"How are you?"

Come stai?

First is come, "how." Come. Come.

Next is stai, "you are." Stai. Stai.

Note, stai is a shortened form of tu stai, “you are.” In Italian, tu, you, is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context.

Stai is from the verb stare, meaning "to be." Stare.

All together, it's Come stai? "How are ?" Come stai?

Note the rising intonation to Emily that it's a question. Come stai?

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Matteo says,

"I’m well, thank you."

Sto bene, grazie.

"I’m well, thank you." Sto bene, grazie.

First is sto, " am." Sto. Sto.

Note, sto is a shortened form of io sto, "I am." In Italian, io, "I," is often omitted when it’s understood.

Sto is from the verb stare, meaning "to be" in this context. Stare.

Next is bene, "well." Bene. Bene.

Together, it’s Sto bene. "I’m well." Sto bene.

Note, Sto bene may translate as I’m well, I’m fine, I’m good, I’m okay, etc, but we’ll use “I’m well” for this lesson.

Next is, grazie, meaning "Thank you." Grazie. Grazie.

All together, it’s Sto bene, grazie. "I’m well, thank you."

Sto bene, grazie.

Note the question “Come stai?” is for informal situations.

For formal situations, simply replace stai with sta, the formal form of "you are."

Come sta? "How are ?" for formal situations. Come sta?

Remember this variation. You'll see it again later.

In Italian, there are two verbs that translate as “to be:” stare and essere. When talking about well being, use stare.

When responding to Come stai? How are you?

Always use the verb stare, as in sto bene. I’m fine.

Let's look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Come stai?

Sto bene, grazie.

Come stai?

"How are you?"

Matteo Marino : Sto bene, grazie.

"I'm well, thank you."

Matteo Marino : Come stai?

Riccardo Russo : Sto abbastanza bene, grazie.

Matteo Marino : Come stai?

"How are you?"

Sto abbastanza bene, grazie.

"I'm pretty good, thank you."

Rosa Romano : Come sta?

Sto bene, grazie.

Come sta?

"How are you?"

Sto bene, grazie.

"I'm well, thank you."

Come stai?

Sto benissimo, grazie.

Come stai?

"How are you?"

Sto benissimo, grazie.

"I'm great, thank you."

Come stai?

Bene. E tu?

Come stai?

"How are you?"

Bene. E tu?

"I'm well. And you?"

Did you notice how the last speaker added, E tu?

Bene. E tu?

"I'm well. And you?"

First is bene, “well.” Bene.

Here, Bene is the shortened form of Sto bene. I’m well.”

Next is E tu? "And you?" E tu?

First is e. "And." E. E.

Next is tu, an informal word meaning "you." Tu. Tu.

Together, it’s E tu? meaning "And you?" E tu?

You can use this phrase to reciprocate the question when someone asks you about your well being.

For example, if someone says,

Come stai?

You can respond with,

Bene. E tu?

First, respond to the question. Then inquire about the other person’s well being with E tu? "And you?"

Note, as tu, "you," is informal, this expression is appropriate for informal situations.

Remember this pattern, “Bene. E tu,” you’ll see it again later.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Abbastanza bene. "Pretty good." Abbastanza bene. Abbastanza bene.

Benissimo. "Great." Benissimo. Benissimo

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "how?"

Come.

And how Emily Erba asks,

"How are you?"

Come stai?

Do you remember how to say "well?"

Bene.

And how to say

"I’m well."

Sto bene.

Do you remember how to say

"Thank you."

Grazie.

Do you remember how Matteo says,

"I'm well, thank you."

Sto bene, grazie.

Do you remember how to say, "And you?"

E tu?

And how to say "pretty good?"

Abbastanza bene.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Matteo , Emily ’s colleague. Ask how Emilyis doing using informal Italian.

Ready?

Come stai?

Sto abbastanza bene, grazie.

Listen again and repeat.

Come stai?

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're the Russo family’s Italian teacher, Rosa Romano , and you’re starting class. Ask about Karen ’s well being using formal Italian.

Ready?

Come sta?

Sto bene, grazie.

Listen again and repeat.

Come sta?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Sasha , and you meet your friend at school.

Respond by saying, “Well. And you?”

Ready?

Come stai?

Bene. E tu?

Listen again and repeat.

Bene. E tu?

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.

Now you know how to ask about well-being in Italian. That's all there is to it.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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