Learn Italian: Come stai? Non c'è male, grazie! - "How are you?" "Not bad, thanks!"

In English we use the verb 'to be' to ask how someone is, but in Italian you use the verb stare (which often means 'to stay'). When talking about health or how you are feeling, always use stare. So you are literally asking 'How do you stay?'.

Can I say Come stai? to anyone?

Come stai? is the informal 'you' form, so you should only use it with friends, family, children, and people your own age. If you want to ask a stranger, an elder, or someone in a formal setting, you should use the formal version: Come sta?.

What does c'è mean in Non c'è male?

c'è means 'there is'. The phrase Non c'è male literally translates to 'There is not bad' or 'There is no badness'. It is a very common fixed expression Italians use to say 'Not bad' or 'I can't complain'.

I learned that cattivo means 'bad'. Why is the word male used here instead?

cattivo is an adjective used to describe a person or a thing, like a bad movie or a bad dog. male is an adverb meaning 'badly' or a noun meaning 'badness' or 'pain'. When talking about how you feel or how things are going, Italian uses bene (well) and male (bad/badly).