hva gjør du?
The English phrase "what are you doing?" is expressed in Norwegian as hva gjør du?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their current activity. While hva gjør du? focuses on a specific activity, you might use Hva skjer? if you want to say "What's happening?" or "What's up?" as an informal greeting to ask what is going on in a situation or in someone's life.
Which one should you use?
Hva driver du med? and Hva holder du på med? are both informal ways to ask what someone is doing.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the subject from "you" to "I", replace the pronoun du with jeg, resulting in hva gjør jeg?
Did you know?
- Norwegians use hva gjør du? to ask about current activities, but they do not have a separate continuous verb tense like the English 'are doing'.
- While hva gjør du? asks about an action, using the verb drive in hva driver du med? can imply someone is being busy or even up to something suspicious.
- The word du shares the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root as the archaic English word 'thou'.
Examples in context
- Hva driver du med på fritiden?What do you do in your free time?
- Hva holder du på med akkurat nå?What are you up to right now?
- Hva gjør du på lørdag?What are you doing on Saturday?
Example conversation
Nora calls Kristoffer on the phone to check on him.
- NoraHei Kristoffer, hva gjør du?Hi Kristoffer, what are you doing?
- KristofferJeg lager middag, Nora.I am making dinner, Nora.
- NoraSå hyggelig!How nice!
- KristofferVil du komme over?Do you want to come over?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, hva, CC BY-SA 4.0.
