Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Estás feliz u orgulloso?

Normally, the Spanish word for "or" is o. However, because the very next word (orgulloso) starts with an "o" sound, the conjunction changes to u. This rule applies to any word starting with o- or ho- to prevent the two similar vowels from crashing together into one long sound.

Why do we use estás instead of eres here?

We use estás (from the verb estar) because the sentence is asking about a temporary emotion or state—how you are feeling right now. If you used eres (from ser), you would be asking about permanent personality traits. That actually changes the meaning completely: ser feliz means "to be a generally happy person," and ser orgulloso means "to be arrogant or prideful"!

If I am asking a female friend, how does this sentence change?

You would ask: ¿Estás feliz u orgullosa? The word feliz stays exactly the same because adjectives ending in consonants (like -z) do not change for gender. However, orgulloso is a standard adjective ending in -o, so it must change to -a to match a feminine subject.

Why is the word for "you" (tú) missing from this sentence?