# "Como tally vu" (sp?)- French for what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556 "2005-12-21T01:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/1 "2005-12-21T01:41:56Z")
A friend used the phrase & was astonished that I had never heard it. She refused then to tell me what it means. Help, please! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/2 "2005-12-21T01:43:41Z")
It’s spelt _comment allez-vous?_ And it means “how are you going?” ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/3 "2005-12-21T01:44:45Z")
It basically means “how are you?” ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/4 "2005-12-21T01:45:46Z")
Je vais à pied, évidemment. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/5 "2005-12-21T01:46:35Z")
It’s _como talle vu?_ It just means “how are you?” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/6 "2005-12-21T01:47:39Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s spelt _comment allez-vous?_ > > And it means “how are you going?” That’s a literal translation. It actually means "how are you doing? or “how are things going?” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/7 "2005-12-21T01:47:42Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s spelt _comment allez-vous?_ Yeah, what he said :smack: I know what it means, just can’t spell it. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/8 "2005-12-21T01:48:13Z")
you can “get her back” next time by saying “ça va?” which is the colloquial version of the more familiar “comment ça va” which also translates basically as “how goes it?” “ça” is pronounced “sah” ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/9 "2005-12-21T01:59:30Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > > [@Cunctator](#): > > > > It’s spelt comment allez-vous? > > > > And it means “how are you going?” > > That’s a literal translation. It actually means "how are you doing? or “how are things going?” Actually, in Australian English it is an idiomatic as well as a literal translation. “How are you doing?” is a translation of the Australian idiom into American English. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/10 "2005-12-21T02:27:02Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > you can “get her back” next time by saying “ça va?” which is the colloquial version of the more familiar “comment ça va” which also translates basically as “how goes it?” “ça” is pronounced “sah” I’ve also heard, “Il va?” (It or he goes?) meaning “Is everything OK?” but I’m not sure that was from a native speaker. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/11 "2005-12-21T02:32:40Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s spelt _comment allez-vous?_ > > And it means “how are you going?” I would just pedantically add that the _vous_ is the polite or formal form. To someone with whom you are more familiar you would say _comment va-tu_? Don’t know if that’s useful since I don’t know the context of the question. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/12 "2005-12-21T02:32:55Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > Je vais à pied, évidemment. You just ruined my reason for opening this thread, you realize. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/13 "2005-12-21T02:54:38Z")
As others have said, _Comment allez-vous_ (pronounced, roughly, as [com m\ tallay voo]) literally means “how are you going”, and is an informal French greeting similar to “how’s it goin’, eh?”. Elision drags the final ‘t’ of _comment_ over against the first vowel of _allez_, where it is pronounced. It is not pronounced if _comment_ is by itself, or followed by a word that starts with a consonant. Useful replies include: _Ça va bien._ [sah vah bi-\] lit. “It’s going well.” “Things are, in fact, going well.” _Ça va._ [sah vah] lit. “It’s going.” “Things are not going well–in fact, they’re pretty craptacular at the moment–but I don’t want to actually come out and say it.” This expression is good for when you meet your boss in the lunch lineup. _Tre bien!_ [treh bi-\] lit. “Very well!” “My new girlfriend and I just won the lottery and we’re about to blow this popsicle stand!” _Comme ci, comme ça._ [kum see kum sah] lit. “Like this, like that.” “A bunch of good and bad stuff has happened; please enquire further.” This expression is good for when you meet your co-worker in the lunch lineup. _Merde! J’ai oublié ou se trouve le mouton, mais j’ai vu **Hal Briston** dans cette autobus-ci._ [merd zhai oobleeyay oo seh troov le moo-t\ meh zhay v\ hal brisstun d\ set ohtohboos see] I leave the meaning of this one for the reader. Hint: _mouton_ = sheep. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/14 "2005-12-21T03:16:35Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > \ > _Merde! J’ai oublié ou se trouve le mouton, mais j’ai vu **Hal Briston** dans cette autobus-ci._ > [merd zhai oobleeyay oo seh troov le moo-t\ meh zhay v\ hal brisstun d\ set ohtohboos see] > I leave the meaning of this one for the reader. Hint: _mouton_ = sheep. 🙂 Oh wow I am rusty but “Dammit, I forgot to bring the friggin’ sheep. but I did see Hal Briston on that bus” Talk about your non sequiturs! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/15 "2005-12-21T03:32:38Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > Talk about your non sequiturs! [**Hal Briston** - Sex with sheep is fun!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333640) Oh, and _merde_ means “shit”. Clearly, I’m no French expert, but I know that much! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/16 "2005-12-21T03:38:20Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > _Tre bien!_ [pedant=on]Très[/pedant] ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/17 "2005-12-21T03:51:36Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > _Comme ci, comme ça._ > [kum see kum sah] lit. “Like this, like that.” > “A bunch of good and bad stuff has happened; please enquire further.” I would translate this idiomatically as “so-so”. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/18 "2005-12-21T03:55:59Z")
also there are the responses to **Sunspace** ’s comments “tant pis” (tau’ (nasal "n’ no final ‘t’) pee) - what a pity “quel damage” (accent the 2nd syllable of “damage”) literally “what damage!” basically “Jeez, that sucks” (or as my friend in Montreal is fond of saying “Quel fromage”) ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/19 "2005-12-21T04:02:56Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > “quel damage” (accent the 2nd syllable of “damage”) literally “what damage!” basically “Jeez, that sucks” > (or as my friend in Montreal is fond of saying “Quel fromage”) Actually, that’s _quelle dommage_, or “What a shame!” ---
**Author:** ![cbarnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@cbarnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbarnes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556/20 "2005-12-21T04:06:26Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > Je vais à pied, évidemment. Wonderful Dave Barry reference 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/como-tally-vu-sp-french-for-what/336556.md?page=2)