How to Say “Now What?” in Spanish

By •
¿y ahora qué?
/ʝ aˈoɾa ˈke/word by word
The English phrase "now what?" is translated into Spanish as ¿y ahora qué?
¿y ahora qué? is a question used to ask what should be done next after a situation has changed or a task is finished. You can use it to ask for instructions after completing a task, or to express frustration or helplessness when a new problem arises.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of the conjunction y (and), the adverb ahora (now) and the interrogative pronoun qué (what).

How do you pronounce it?

/ʝ aˈoɾa ˈke/

Did you know?

  • If you travel to Portugal, you will find the word agora used as the standard way to say 'now', whereas in Spain it is considered an archaic or dialectal form.
  • The word ahora is a contraction of the Latin phrase 'hāc hōrā', which literally translates to 'at this hour'.

Examples in context

  • ¿Y ahora qué?
    Now What?
  • ¿Qué sigue, señor García?
    What comes next, Mr. García?
  • ¿Y cuál sería el siguiente paso?
    What would be the next step?
  • ¿Y ahora qué hacemos?
    Now what do we do?
  • Ya terminé la tarea. ¿Y ahora qué?
    I already finished the homework. Now what?
  • Terminamos el proyecto, ¿y ahora qué?
    We finished the project, now what?
  • Se rompió el coche, ¿y ahora qué?
    The car broke down, now what?

Example conversation

Mateo and Sofia have just finished cleaning the kitchen.

  1. Mateo

    Ya limpié la mesa, ¿y ahora qué?
    I already cleaned the table, now what?
  2. Sofía

    Ahora tienes que lavar los platos, Mateo.
    Now you have to wash the dishes, Mateo.
  3. Mateo

    ¿Y ahora qué? Ya lavé los platos también.
    Now what? I washed the dishes too.
  4. Sofía

    Entonces ya puedes descansar, Sofía dice que terminaste.
    Then you can rest, Sofia says you're finished.

Sources

  • IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (y, ahora, qué) and can differ in connected speech.
  • Word origins: Wiktionary entries ahora, qué, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Elijah Cecil
Elijah CecilHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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