Learn Italian: Come stai? Sto così così.

Come stai? Sto così così.

How are you? I am so-so.

Breakdown of Come stai? Sto così così.

come

how

stare

to stay, to feel, to be

così

so, like this

come stai

how are you? (informal)

Questions & Answers about Come stai? Sto così così.

Why does this use stai and sto instead of sei and sono for "are" and "am"?

In Italian, you use the verb stare (to stay / to be) rather than essere (to be) when talking about health or how someone is feeling overall. So for "How are you?", Italians literally ask "How do you stay?" (Come stai?), and you answer with "I stay..." (Sto...).

How do we know who is being talked about without words like "you" or "I"?

Stai is the informal "you" form (tu) of the irregular verb stare, and sto is the "I" form (io). Because the endings of Italian verbs change depending on who is doing the action, you don't need to include the subject pronouns (tu or io) unless you want to add special emphasis.

Does così così mean exactly the same thing as "so-so" in English?

Yes! The word così generally means "so" or "like this/that". When you say it twice as così così, it means exactly what "so-so" means in English: you're doing okay, neither exceptionally well nor terribly bad.

Could I say Come stai? to anyone?