Ça va ?

how’s it going?; I’m fine

Questions & Answers about Ça va ?

How do you pronounce Ça va ?

It is pronounced roughly like sa va.

• ça sounds like sa
• va sounds like vah
• In IPA: /sa va/

The ç does not sound like English k. The cedilla under the c makes it sound like s.

Why is it written ça and not sa?

Because ça is a specific French word meaning that or it in certain expressions.

The mark under the c is called a cedilla: ç.
It changes the pronunciation of c to an s sound before a, o, or u.

So:

• ca would normally sound like ka
• ça sounds like sa

You just have to learn ça as a common word and spelling.

What does va mean here?

Va is the il/elle/on form of the verb aller, which means to go.

Literally, ça va ? is something like Is it going? or Is that going?
But in real French, it is a very common expression used to ask how someone is doing.

So even though the literal grammar comes from aller, you should learn Ça va ? as a fixed everyday phrase.