Published June 8, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Comment — Meaning and Pronunciation
Comment is a French question word meaning “how”. You’ll hear it in everyday questions such as “Comment ça va ?” (How are you?) and “Comment tu fais ça ?” (How do you do that?). You’ll also hear “Comment ?” by itself to mean “what?”. For example, “Comment ? Je n’ai pas compris.” (What? I didn’t understand).
IPA pronunciation of comment is /kɔ.mɑ̃/ (IPA), which sounds approximately like “koh-mahn”.
Example Sentences
Comment ça va ?
How are you?
Comment tu fais ça ?
How do you do that?
Comment est-ce qu’on dit “cookie” en français ?
How do you say “cookie” in French?
Comment fonctionne cette machine ?
How does this machine work?
Comment ? Je n’ai pas entendu.
What? I didn’t hear.
Comment ! Tu pars déjà ?
What! You’re leaving already?
Explique-moi comment ça marche.
Explain to me how it works.
👉 Asking questions in French can be tricky. This lesson covers all the major rules for asking questions with audio examples.
Related Words and Expressions
Here are some other words that are closely related to comment:
- est-ce que — is/are/do/does (for yes-no questions)
- qui — who
- que — what
- pourquoi — why
- combien — how much, how many
- quoi — what
- quand — when
- où — where
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