I’ve Been Good and You in Spanish | Say It Like A Native

“He estado bien, ¿y tú?” is a natural reply to a check-in, and it smoothly sends the question back.

You’ve probably had this moment: someone messages, “How’ve you been?” You answer. Then you want to be polite and keep the chat going. In Spanish, that same rhythm exists, but you get more choices than English. You can sound casual, formal, extra warm, or gently honest when you’re not feeling great.

This article shows the best Spanish ways to say “I’ve been good, and you?”, how to pick the right version for the setting, and the small details that keep you from sounding stiff. You’ll also get short dialogue patterns you can copy, plus a simple drill routine to make the phrases stick.

What This Reply Is Doing In Spanish

Most of the time, the English line “I’ve been good, and you?” answers a “How have you been?” type question. Spanish often mirrors that: a past-to-now idea (“I’ve been… lately”) plus a quick return question (“and you?”).

Spanish has two common ways to express that past-to-now feeling:

• Present perfect: He estado bien (I’ve been well / I’ve been good).
• Simple present: Estoy bien (I’m good).

Both are normal. The present perfect leans more toward “lately,” while the present is the fast, everyday answer you’ll hear in quick check-ins.

I’ve Been Good and You in Spanish

If you want the most direct line that still sounds natural, use one of these:

• He estado bien, ¿y tú? (informal “you”)
• He estado bien, ¿y usted? (formal “you”)

Why estar? Feeling fine is treated as a state, and Spanish commonly uses estar for states and conditions. If you want an official grammar reference, the Real Academia Española explains typical uses in its notes on “estar” (Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas), and it pairs well with its guidance on “ser” for more stable traits.

You’ll still hear a lot of variation in real speech: bien, muy bien, todo bien, más o menos. The core idea stays the same: short answer, then the return question.

Match The “You” To The Moment

Spanish “you” isn’t one-size-fits-all. If you match the other person’s register, you sound natural right away.

Informal: Tú

Use tú with friends, classmates, and most casual chats.

• He estado bien, ¿y tú?
• Estoy bien, ¿y tú?

Formal: Usted

Use usted in polite settings, with strangers, with many workplace contacts, and often with older adults you don’t know well.

• He estado bien, ¿y usted?
• Estoy bien, ¿y usted?

Plural: Ustedes And Vosotros

Replying to a group? In most of Latin America, ustedes covers “you all.” In Spain, you’ll hear vosotros among friends and ustedes in more formal talk. The Instituto Cervantes entry on “vosotros” is a clear overview if you want quick usage notes.

• He estado bien, ¿y ustedes?
• He estado bien, ¿y vosotros? (Spain, informal plural)

Best Replies You Can Rotate

You don’t need ten phrases in your head. You need three or four that cover most situations. Here are options that sound normal in everyday Spanish.

Friendly And Neutral

He estado bien, ¿y tú? works in most casual catch-ups, especially if you haven’t talked in a while. Estoy bien, ¿y tú? is even more common in fast check-ins and texting.

Warm And Upbeat

Want to sound a bit brighter? Add a small booster, then stop. Long, bubbly replies can feel forced.

• He estado muy bien, ¿y tú?
• Todo bien, ¿y tú?
• Bastante bien, ¿y tú?

Not Great, Still Polite

You can be honest without turning the chat into a heavy moment. These lines are common and keep things moving:

• Ahí voy, ¿y tú? (Getting by.)
• Más o menos, ¿y tú? (So-so.)
• He estado un poco cansado/a, ¿y tú? (A bit tired.)

Busy Lately

This one feels real and gives the other person something to respond to:

• He estado un poco ocupado/a, ¿y tú?
• He estado con mucho trabajo, ¿y tú?

On gender: many speakers match the adjective to themselves (ocupado / ocupada, cansado / cansada). If you’d rather skip that, use a noun phrase like con mucho trabajo.

Dialogue Patterns That Sound Like Real Talk

Memorizing one sentence is fine. A better trick is memorizing a pattern, then swapping a few words. Here are three you can reuse.

Pattern 1: Present Perfect + Return Question

A: ¿Cómo has estado?
B: He estado bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

Pattern 2: Simple Present + Quick Follow-Up

A: ¿Qué tal?
B: Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

Pattern 3: Add One Detail, Then Flip It Back

A: ¿Cómo has estado?
B: He estado bien, con mucho trabajo estos días. ¿Y tú?

That one small detail is gold. It makes you sound like a person, not a phrasebook. It also gives the other person an easy next message.

Table Of Options With Tone And When To Use Them

Use this table as a menu. Pick one line, then keep the return question short.

Spanish Reply	When It Fits	Tone
He estado bien, ¿y tú?	Friends, casual catch-ups, longer gap	Neutral, natural
Estoy bien, ¿y tú?	Fast check-ins, texting, day-to-day	Easy, casual
Todo bien, ¿y tú?	Quick friendly reply	Relaxed
He estado muy bien, ¿y tú?	Good mood, positive vibe	Bright
Ahí voy, ¿y tú?	Not bad, not great	Honest, light
Más o menos, ¿y tú?	So-so days	Flat, polite
He estado un poco ocupado/a, ¿y tú?	Busy season, exams, work rush	Friendly, real
He estado bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?	Polite settings, formal talk	Respectful

Small Details That Make You Sound Natural

These are tiny moves, yet they change how your Spanish lands.

Use “Gracias” Like A Native

After a check-in, gracias is common. It reads as polite and calm. Keep it short:

• Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?
• He estado bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?

Say The Accent Marks Out Loud In Your Head

These two look similar, yet they’re different:

• tu = your
• tú = you

So the return question is ¿y tú? with the accent.

Pick “Bien” Over “Bueno” After Estar

After estar, Spanish uses bien far more often than bueno. Estoy bien is the standard line. Estoy bueno can sound like “I’m attractive” in many places. If you want to avoid awkward laughs, stick with bien for “doing fine.”

Know When Present Perfect Matters

If the other person asks ¿Cómo has estado?, the present perfect reply he estado… fits like a glove. If they ask ¿Cómo estás? or ¿Qué tal?, estoy… is a clean fit. If you want a quick refresher on how the present perfect is built and when it’s used, SpanishDict’s Spanish present perfect overview lays it out with clear examples.

Regional Notes You’ll Hear In Real Life

Spanish changes a bit across countries. You can still use the lines above almost everywhere. A few variations are worth knowing so you don’t get thrown off.

“¿Y Vos?” In Places That Use Vos

In Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of Central America, many speakers use vos instead of tú. If someone says ¿y vos?, it’s just “and you?” in that system. You can answer with He estado bien all the same, then return it with ¿y vos? to match them.

“Todo Bien” As A Set Phrase

Todo bien shows up everywhere. It’s a neat, relaxed way to say “all good.” It also works as a question: ¿Todo bien? If someone asks you that, replying Todo bien, ¿y tú? sounds smooth.

Short Replies In Texts

In messages, people often trim the reply. You might see Bien, ¿y tú? or even just Bien y tú. If you’re still learning, stick to the full punctuation in your own writing. It helps you build the habit: ¿Y tú?

Common Mistakes And Clean Fixes

Most slip-ups here are easy to fix once you see them.

Mistake: “Soy bien”

Fix:Estoy bien. Feeling fine is a state, and estar is the usual verb for that. The RAE’s notes on estar line up with what you’ll hear in daily speech.

Mistake: Forgetting The Return Question

You can stop after your answer, yet the return question is what matches the English “and you?” and keeps the exchange balanced. If you forget, you can tack it on right away:

• Ah, ¿y tú?
• ¿Y usted?

Mistake: Mixing Tú And Usted In One Exchange

If someone starts with ¿Cómo está?, replying with ¿y tú? can feel too casual. Match the form they used. It’s a small signal of respect.

Table For Building Your Own Reply In Seconds

This second table helps you build a line on the fly. Pick a starter, pick a feeling word, add one detail if you want, then add the return question.

Piece	Pick One	How To Use It
Starter	He estado… / Estoy…	He estado leans toward “lately.” Estoy fits quick check-ins.
Feeling Word	bien / muy bien / más o menos / ahí voy	Keep it short. Don’t stack two or three feelings in one sentence.
One Detail	con trabajo / con clases / un poco cansado/a	Three to five words is plenty.
Return Question	¿y tú? / ¿y usted? / ¿y ustedes? / ¿y vos?	Match the other person’s form and whether it’s one person or a group.

Two-Minute Practice That Actually Works

You don’t need a long study session. Try this quick routine a few times this week. It takes less time than scrolling your feed.

1. Swap the feeling word. Say He estado bien, then swap in más o menos, muy bien, ahí voy.
2. Swap the person. Repeat the same line with tú, usted, ustedes.
3. Add one detail. Keep it short: con mucho trabajo, con clases, un poco cansado/a.
4. Say it out loud. Two minutes of speaking beats twenty minutes of silent reading.

Quick Checklist Before You Send It

• Did you match tú, usted, ustedes, or vos?
• Did you use estar + bien for “doing fine”?
• Did you add the return question so the chat keeps flowing?
• Would one small detail help, or is a clean short reply better?

Start with He estado bien, ¿y tú?. Use it a few times. Then try Estoy bien, ¿y tú? in quick chats, and He estado bien, ¿y usted? when you want a polite tone. That’s enough to sound natural in texts, calls, and face-to-face talk.