¿Qué hacemos hoy?
The English phrase "what are we doing today?" is translated into Spanish as ¿Qué hacemos hoy?
¿Qué hacemos hoy? is used to ask about the plan or activities for the current day. It can be used both to ask about a pre-arranged schedule and to brainstorm spontaneous activities for the day.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "What do we do today?" because Spanish often uses the present indicative to express near-future plans.
Which one should you use?
While ¿Qué hacemos hoy? is common, you can also use ¿Qué vamos a hacer hoy?, which means "What are we going to do today?" and uses the "ir + a + infinitive" construction to express the same meaning.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, asking ¿Qué hacemos hoy? can be a social cue to begin a long process of negotiation and debate rather than a request for a set itinerary.
- While hacemos comes from hacer, the word 'do' in English is not closely related, but hacer shares a distant ancestor with the English word 'factory'.
- The word qué is a direct descendant of the Latin 'quid', which is the same root used in the English word 'quid pro quo'.
Examples in context
- No tengo planes, ¿qué hacemos hoy?I don't have plans, what are we doing today?
- Es sábado, ¿qué hacemos hoy?It's Saturday, what are we doing today?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hoy, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
