How to Say "Did You Eat?" in Spanish

¿ya comiste?

In Spanish, "did you eat?" is expressed as ¿ya comiste?

This phrase is used to ask if someone has already had a meal. In many Spanish-speaking cultures, asking ¿ya comiste? is a common way to show care or concern for someone's well-being.

Which one should you use?

The default form ¿ya comiste? uses the 'tú' (informal) conjugation, which is appropriate for friends, family or peers. If you want to be more specific, you can use ¿Ya almorzaste? or ¿Comiste algo?

Is it said differently in some regions?

In Mexico, it is common to add the word "ya" to the informal phrase ¿Comiste? to say ¿Ya comiste? In Spain, it is common to use the phrase ¿Has comido? instead of ¿Comiste? and you may hear ¿Has comido algo? instead of ¿Comiste algo? In Argentina, it is common to use the phrase ¿Almorzaste? to specifically ask "Did you have lunch?" or ¿Cenaste? to ask "Did you have dinner?"

How does it change in a sentence?

To ask a group of people if they have eaten, use the plural form ¿ya comieron?

When do people say it?

A natural way to answer this question in the affirmative is Sí, ya comí, while a common way to answer this question in the negative is No, todavía no.

Did you know?

The word ya in ¿ya comiste? shares a common ancestor with the French word déjà used in 'déjà vu'. Both come from the Latin 'iam', meaning 'now'.
In a social setting, if someone asks you ¿Ya comiste? and you say 'No', it is often an implicit invitation for the asker to offer you food or suggest eating together.
Because comiste comes from the verb 'comer', it is related to the English word 'comestible', though they are not direct cognates in modern usage.

Examples in context

¿Ha comido usted? Por favor, siéntese y disfrute de la comida.
Have you eaten? Please, sit down and enjoy the food.
¿Comiste algo? Estaba preocupado por ti.
Did you eat something? I was worried about you.
Te llamo más tarde, ¿ya comiste?
I'll call you later, did you eat already?

Example conversation

Lucía calls Javier to see if he wants to go out for lunch.

Lucía

Hola Javier, ¿ya comiste?
Hi Javier, did you eat already?
Javier

No, todavía no he comido.
No, I haven't eaten yet.
Lucía

Entonces, ¿quieres ir a comer conmigo?
Then, do you want to go eat with me?
Javier

Sí, me parece una buena idea.
Yes, that sounds like a good idea.

Sources

Word origins: Wiktionary entries ya, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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How to Say “Did You Eat?” in Spanish