nada, ¿y tú?
/ˈnada i ˈtu/word by word
Nmu is texting shorthand for not much, you? In Spanish the natural reply is nada, ¿y tú?
Use nada, ¿y tú? to answer when a friend asks what is up or what you are doing. It literally means nothing, and you? And works in chats as well as face to face. tú is the informal you, which fits the casual tone of nmu.
What does it mean word for word?
nada means nothing, y means and and tú means you.
How do you pronounce it?
nada, ¿y tú? is said /ˈnada i ˈtu/. The y on its own sounds like the ee in see.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not translate not much word for word, as that sounds like a copy of English. Also keep the accent on tú, because without it the word means your.
Did you know?
- The word nada comes from the Latin phrase for 'no born thing', essentially describing nothingness as something that was never born.
- In Spanish, the word nada can be used as a polite way to say 'you are welcome' or 'it was nothing' after someone thanks you.
- The word tú is used in most Spanish-speaking countries, but in some regions of Colombia and Spain, people use vos instead of tú for the same informal feeling.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking on the phone.
- Mateo¿Cómo va todo, Sofía?How is everything going, Sofía?
- SofíaBien. ¿Qué haces, Mateo?Good. What are you doing, Mateo?
- MateoNada, ¿y tú?Nothing, and you?
- SofíaTambién nada especial.Nothing special either.
