¿estás dormido?
The English phrase "are you sleep?" is expressed in Spanish as ¿estás dormido?
This phrase is used to ask if a person is currently in the state of being asleep.
Which one should you use?
While ¿estás dormido? asks if someone is already in the state of sleep, ¿te estás durmiendo? is used to ask if the person is currently in the process of falling asleep.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are asking a female if she is asleep, you must change the ending to the feminine form ¿estás dormida? To ask if someone is asleep using the formal usted (you), change the verb from estás to está, resulting in ¿está dormido? (which can also mean "is he/she asleep?").
Did you know?
- While dormido literally means 'asleep', it is also used as a slang term for someone who is slow to react or oblivious to what is happening around them.
- Spanish speakers often use the phrase quedarse dormido to describe the specific act of accidentally falling asleep when they intended to stay awake.
- The word dormido shares the same Latin root, 'dormire', as the English word 'dormitory', which is a place designed specifically for sleeping.
Examples in context
- Buenas noches, ¿está usted durmiendo ya?Good evening, are you already asleep?
- Disculpe, ¿está usted durmiendo?Excuse me, are you sleeping?
- ¿Estás durmiendo?Are you sleeping?
- Perdón por interrumpir, ¿se encuentra durmiendo?Sorry to interrupt, are you asleep?
- ¿Estás durmiendo ya?Are you already sleeping?
- ¿Estás dormido?Are you asleep?
- No me contestas, ¿estás dormido?You are not answering me, are you asleep?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dormido, CC BY-SA 4.0.
