I find the Spanish language very cool and hospitable. In fact, across many websites and other electronic sources, you’ll discover that the language is rated highly as one of the best sexiest languages out there.
However, it doesn’t just stop at being a good language for expressing feelings, it also incorporates homeliness just as seen in the Spanish phrase “Que tal’.
Perhaps, someone recently said ‘que tal’ to you and you’re out to know what it means and how to reply if the need arises shortly.
This could be easily the reason why you found yourself on this page in the first place, and if that’s true then you’re at the right spot.
This is because, in the course of this article, I’ll be discussing what it entails to say ‘que tal’ and possible replies which are suitable for the situation when someone says the Spanish phrase to you. To know more, stay in tune with me!
What Does Que Tal Mean in Spanish?
Que tal is a Spanish phrase that is often translated to English to mean “how are you”. While this may not be the traditional Spanish way of saying “how are you”, it is also used to convey the same message.
Generally, asking someone ‘que tal’ to someone means you’re projecting the message of concern and care toward the person you’re directing it to.
Additionally, ‘que tal’ is also a form of greeting as I heard quite a lot of it during my visit to Madrid some time ago. The best thing about the phrase is that it is boundless, which means it can be used both in formal and informal situations.
Therefore, you can use ‘que tal’ to extend a greeting to someone notwithstanding their age, or social standing.
Moving on, ‘que tal’ is also used in place of simple salutary words or phrases like “hi”, “what’s up”, “hey”, and “what’s good?”. It is also worth for you to note that ‘que tal’ is also used as a complement to “Hola”.
This means that you can reply with ‘que tal’ when someone says to you “Hola”. At best, ‘que tal’ looks too basic of a Spanish word so you can use it as a beginner or an influential Spanish speaker.
Lastly, ‘que tal’ is a phrase that also depicts an inquisition on how something is or how an event went like.
This means I can use ‘que tal’ to enquire about the outcome of a board meeting, a meal, or even a trial at a new spa.
Below is an example of a sentence where the phrase is used as a form of questioning the outcome of something.
Qué tal está la comida? = how is the food?
15 Great Responses to Qué Tal
We’re done with getting acquainted with the meaning of ‘que tal’ and how it’s been implemented across different conversation patterns and scenarios.
This spans from it being a greeting, to an inquiry that passes the message of concern to the person it’s been said to.
However, at this juncture, we’ll be looking at something different but related to the Spanish phrase. And that would be how to respond to anyone who says ‘que tal’ to you.
This is because just knowing the meaning is not enough, as also getting in the know of what you can say in response completes the whole inquisition process. To that effect, below is my collection of the best 15 epic responses to Que tal.
N\B: The replies featured in this article come with their Spanish counterpart as meaning, to make for easier understanding and comprehension before implementing any of them.
- Hey dear = Hola
- I’m alright, thanks = Muy Bien, gracias
- I can’t really complain = Pues, no me quero
- Sincerely, not great = La verdad, no muy bien
- All good, thanks = To do chido
- All cool = To do chido
- Awesome = A toda madre
- Work is fine = El trabejo está bien
- What more can I say? = Que mas puedo decir
- I’m chilling = Me estoy relajendo
- Can’t get any better = No puedo mejorar
- It was a blast = Fuel una explosion
- Same old, same old = Lo mismo de siempre, lol mismo de siempre
- I can’t really explain = Realmente no puedo explicarlo
- I’m hale and hearty = Soy hale y cordial
Hey Dear = Hola Amado
This is arguably the first instance response when someone says ‘que tal’ to you. Having just discovered the meaning of the Spanish term, you may be led to believe that the foremost meaning of que tal is a greeting from people, both old and young.
While you may not be wrong about this, it is not entirely wholesome to have a one-way belief of what que tal actually means.
To that effect, you may be prompted to respond in likely the most friendly and subtle of ways. This will help you keep the suspicion that you’re a learner of the language at arm’s length, as you won’t be seen as a complete Spanish nerd amongst Spaniards.
To achieve this, you can use this line of response.
This is a simple way of throwing back a salutary message to the person who said ‘que tal’ to you. Therefore, the likely imagined dialogue scenario would be this…
Speaker: Que tal, Luis = What’s up, Luis
Response: Hola, Amado = Hey dear
The above lines of the conversation show the conversation of the phrasal ‘que tal’ into a salutary term and the response that follows. For a case of implementation, the response which I used in this dialogue is calm, and subtle and reflects acceptance.
Therefore, you might want to maintain a tone that resonates with any of these qualities to convey the main message.
I’m Alright, Thanks = Muy Bien, Gracias
This is another response on this list which I created to come off as a cool reply. Just like the case of a ‘que tal’ being a salutary term, this line of response is one of the best ones which fits into the description.
Well, unlike the previous response, this response adds more detail to the response. The previous response was more like a greeting, but I made this one in a way that it does not only do that but also brings life into how you feel.
With this response, you get to reveal that you’re good, which is possibly the reason why the person asked you in the first place.
Oftentimes, I hear people say “how’re you” to others but they do that out of sheer asking, with no true intentions attached.
Fortunately, the nature of this response makes it so that the person gets to know how you feel whether or not they are truly concerned about how “you are”.
The response doesn’t end there, in fact, it goes ahead to show gratitude to the person for being so concerned about you that they had to ask you using ‘que ta’.
The inclusion of “thanks’ ‘ at the end of the line depicts appreciation to the person who said ‘que tal’ to you.
For what it’s worth, this line adds to the fact that you need to sound as courteous as possible while replying to ‘que tal’ with it.
Well, I Can’t Really Complain = Pues, No Me Quero
Another view to responding to ‘que tal’ is by being intentional about how you feel or perceive the term. Since most of the use of ‘que tal’ comes in the form of questions, you can assume the position of replying to the question with this line of response.
Instead of the regular cliche replies like “I’m okay” or “I’m fine”; you go the extra mile of explaining that you can’t complain.
What I was trying to convey with it is that you may use it even if you don’t want to let your listener into the whole scope of what’s going on in your life.
Therefore, you can use this line to project the idea that you’re not entirely fine, but at least you still don’t complain.
Even without being told, this response is a good way to put the resolve of “don’t worry about me” on the person who says ‘que tal’ to you.
So that makes it a good reply strategy to use in case someone says ‘que tal’ to you. Similarly, the Spanish translation of the response is also easy to grasp just in case you want to give it a shot at speaking Spanish.
Sincerely, Not Great = La Verdad, No Muy Bien
I see no reason why you should say you’re fine when you’re not. Humans are a species of convenience, that’s why all of us will boldly tell someone “I’m okay” when our face and body are saying something else.
I guess it’s all part of the agenda to keep your sadness to yourself but it doesn’t pan out well in the long run.
Hence, I believe there’s a need for you to be opulent about how you feel and not necessarily try to bottle it all up. If you want to go down that lane of being open about how you feel, then I guess you should hook up with this line of response.
It not only sets the pace for your deep emotional revelation but also makes an effort to mention that it is a sincere review of your emotional state.
With this type of response, you get to have the concerned person in the know of how you feel. To that effect, the person could probably decide to intervene or assist you to find a way out.
While all of these sounds easy to do, it is not how reality makes it because I also find it difficult to open up. However, whenever I start to do that I don’t go back from it.
All Good, Thanks = To Do Chido
A crucial part of most replies to ‘que tal’ is the ability to show an emotional persona that is stable.
While this can be hard to do due to the nature of the question que tal, you can use a response like this particular one to generalize all you want to say without having to branch off at one and talk lengthy on it.
So, saying “all good” is a nice reply which gives only peripheral info to the person who says ‘que tal’ to you. This line also incorporates the need for a gratitude word to show thankfulness to the person who’s probably concerned about you.
All Cool = To Do Chido
Just like the previous response, this particular reply is also a generalized response that does not give out more info on how you’re faring. The only difference here is that there’s no depiction of gratitude in this line of response as seen in the previous one.
Awesome = A Toda Madre
A one-word response to ‘que tal’ is truly epic, don’t you think? Well, I think it’s one of the coldest and most epic responses on this list. Simply saying “awesome says a lot about you not being someone of many words. So, if you’re a man or woman of few words you can use this line.
Work Is Fine = El Trabejo Está Bien
If you want to reply to ‘que tal’ but it was used together in a sentence that asks about your status at work, you can use this line to reply. The response is a simple statement with no strong vocab, making it easy to say and understand too.
What More Can I Say? = Que Mas Puedo Decir
Have you been patient to read about a rhetorical question that doubles as a response to ‘que tal’? Well, here you have it. This a rhetorical question that you can use when replying to ‘que tal’.
This line is also epic because it sounds like a closing argument in a court case, as you can depart from the scene of the question immediately after uttering it.
I’m Chilling = Me Estoy Relajendo
Are you cool? Perhaps, life is treating you fairly and someone says ‘que tal’ to you…you can send back a response with the line. The Spanish version is also nice to utter as it brings out the sexiness of speaking Spanish.
Can’t Get Any Better = No Puedo Mejorar
I discovered that there are no shortcuts in life…which means you need to work for every penny. While that doesn’t necessarily apply to the Spanish phrase, it does relate to the response.
By saying this above response, you’re positing that life’s good and that’s probably because of how hard you’ve worked for it.
If life is already easy on me, what more can I ask for? Hence, this response is a good candidate for replying to ‘que tal’.
It Was a Blast = Fue Una Explosion
This is one of those replies you can use if you’re responding to ‘que tal’ when it’s used to ask you about the outcome of an event or something else. It could be an apartment or job hunt, or just anything else that’s worth asking about its outcome.
However, this response points towards the direction of a party. This means that you can use it if ‘que tal’ was used while asking you how a party you went to turned out.
In the same vein, the response is in the positive angle as it confirms that the event was heavily successful, hence, the use of the word “blast”…blast not in the form of a bomb but heavy success.
Same Old, Same Old = Lo Mismo de Siempre, Lo Mismo de Siempre
When someone asks you ‘que tal’ as a form of enquiring about how you’re faring, you can use this response. The response shows that there’s no known or obvious change yet. Therefore, the need to repeat the sentence to stress the meaning.
Nevertheless, this response also depicts that you’re in the same stage of your life where the person who asks you the question probably left you off on. You can even wield this response to mean that you need pity and intervention.
I Can’t Really Explain = Realmente No Puedo Explicarlo
I love it when people are open about how they feel and what they want. Unfortunately, expressing one’s feelings remains one of the hardest tasks to take on and complete. If you’re feeling off about how “you are”, you can use this line of response.
The line depicts the indecisiveness in your voice and is a line that can further help you explain more to the person that asks you ‘que tal’.
I’m Hale and Hearty = Soy Hale Y Cordial
Affirming positivity has been a ritual that I don’t joke with. This is because of the effects which I’ve seen in my life so far. It helps me remain conscious of my truth as a person, and also sets me aside as a stable human.
Based on that, you can use this line of response which suggests that you’re “hale and hearty”. The phrase means you’re completely fine, healthwise and otherwise.
Conclusion
We’re now at the end of this article which exposes the meaning of the Spanish term, que tal. I was able to highlight with detail what it means when someone says ‘que tal’ to you.
I took the post to another turn by featuring a couple of epic replies to que tal. While most of the replies come in positive form, others are divided between being sincere and expressing the disgust you feel.
You can pick a suitable response from the list, as it should reflect the message you wish to convey.
I’d love it if you kindly let us know what you think about this post in the comment box below.