Com està vostè avui?

Vostè is the formal way to say you in Catalan. It is used when speaking politely, especially to:

• someone older
• someone you do not know well
• a customer, client, or authority figure
• in more formal situations

If you were speaking informally to a friend, you would usually say:

Com estàs avui?

So the contrast is:

• Com està vostè avui? = formal
• Com estàs avui? = informal

With vostè, Catalan uses third-person singular verb forms, even though it refers to you.

So:

• vostè = formal you
• but grammatically it behaves like he/she

That is why you get:

• vostè està not
• vostè estàs

This is similar to Spanish usted está if you know Spanish.

Com means how.

It introduces the question about someone’s condition or state:

• Com està...? = How are...?
• Com estàs...? = How are you...?

So com is the question word that asks about manner or condition.

Catalan has two verbs that often translate as to be:

• ser
• estar

In a sentence like this, estar is used because it asks about someone’s current state or condition, not their identity or essential nature.

So:

• Com està vostè avui? asks how someone is feeling / doing right now
• not who they are

That is why està is the natural choice here.

It can often be omitted.

Catalan frequently drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb or context. So you may hear:

Com està avui?

This still means the same thing in a formal context: How are you today?

Including vostè makes the sentence:

• a bit more explicit
• sometimes a bit more formal or emphatic

Avui means today.

It adds the idea of right now / today in particular, so the question is not just general but about the person’s present condition.

Without it:

• Com està vostè? = How are you?

With it:

• Com està vostè avui? = How are you today?

Yes. Catalan word order is fairly flexible.

You may see:

• Com està vostè avui?
• Avui, com està vostè?
• Com està avui?

The version with avui at the end is very natural and common. Putting avui earlier can add emphasis, depending on context.

Vostè is pronounced roughly like bos-TEH.

A few useful notes:

• the v is often pronounced like a b in most modern Catalan accents
• the stress falls on the last syllable: -tè
• the accent mark on è shows an open e sound and also helps mark the stress

So you should not pronounce it like English VOH-stay with first-syllable stress. The stress is at the end.

The accent in està shows where the stress goes:

• es-TÀ

It also helps distinguish forms in writing. In this case, it marks the stressed final syllable.

For learners, the main practical point is:

• pronounce the stress on the last syllable
• es-TÀ, not ES-ta

Yes, but it sounds polite and somewhat formal.

In everyday casual speech, people are more likely to say things like:

• Com estàs?
• Què tal?
• Com va?

So Com està vostè avui? is perfectly correct, but it is more likely in polite conversation, customer service, formal situations, or when showing respect.

Yes, though both can be translated similarly.

• Com està vostè? is the normal, general way to ask How are you?
• Com es troba vostè? is a bit more formal and can sound more like How are you feeling?

You might hear Com es troba? in more careful, polite, or medical contexts.

No. Standard Catalan uses only the final question mark:

• Com està vostè avui?

It does not use the opening ¿ that Spanish uses.

So the correct Catalan punctuation is exactly:

• Com està vostè avui?

The direct informal equivalent is:

Com estàs avui?

Here is the comparison:

• Com està vostè avui? = formal singular
• Com estàs avui? = informal singular

If speaking to more than one person informally, you could say:

• Com esteu avui?

And formally to more than one person:

• Com estan vostès avui?