French Word of the Day: En forme
The French term can be used for when you've asked "ca va?" once to often.
Why do I need to know en forme?
It’s another informal, colloquial way in French to ask after the health of someone you know or really just how they doing.
What does it mean?
En forme – pronounced, simply enough, on form – unsurprisingly translates as ‘on form’, or ‘in good shape, ‘fit’.
You may hear it used by a sports coach ahead of their next competition, talking up their prospects – Nos joueurs sont en forme pour aborder cette compétition [Our players are in good shape for this competition].
But you may increasingly also hear it as part of a greeting – Salut ! En forme ? – complete with the rising intonation associated with questions that demand a yes/no answer.
In this case, it’s along the lines of ça va ? [How are you?] or tu vas bien ? [Are you okay?] .
A word of warning – it’s a very casual form of greeting, an in-the-street between friends and acquaintances level.
It’s almost certainly not a good idea to use it, for example, when you meet any prospective future in-laws for the first time – a life-event that demands a certain formality.
The correct response is something along the lines of ‘oui, merci – et toi?’ – a response that clearly demonstrates how informal the original greeting was…
READ ALSO French language dilemmas – when to drop the vous and get friendly
Use it like this
Salut ! En forme? Hi ! Are you good?
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Why do I need to know en forme?
It’s another informal, colloquial way in French to ask after the health of someone you know or really just how they doing.
What does it mean?
En forme – pronounced, simply enough, on form – unsurprisingly translates as ‘on form’, or ‘in good shape, ‘fit’.
You may hear it used by a sports coach ahead of their next competition, talking up their prospects – Nos joueurs sont en forme pour aborder cette compétition [Our players are in good shape for this competition].
But you may increasingly also hear it as part of a greeting – Salut ! En forme ? – complete with the rising intonation associated with questions that demand a yes/no answer.
In this case, it’s along the lines of ça va ? [How are you?] or tu vas bien ? [Are you okay?] .
A word of warning – it’s a very casual form of greeting, an in-the-street between friends and acquaintances level.
It’s almost certainly not a good idea to use it, for example, when you meet any prospective future in-laws for the first time – a life-event that demands a certain formality.
The correct response is something along the lines of ‘oui, merci – et toi?’ – a response that clearly demonstrates how informal the original greeting was…
READ ALSO French language dilemmas – when to drop the vous and get friendly
Use it like this
Salut ! En forme? Hi ! Are you good?
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