vad gör du?
The English phrase "what are you doing?" is translated into Swedish as vad gör du?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their current activity. In Swedish society, the singular pronoun du is used more often than ni, even in many professional settings.
Which one should you use?
While vad gör du? is used when addressing one person, you must use Vad gör ni? when addressing a group of people.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the subject from one person to a group, you must change the pronoun from du to ni, resulting in vad gör ni?
When do people say it?
To be polite when asking this question, it is common to add Ursäkta (Excuse me) before the phrase.
Did you know?
- Using du instead of the formal ni became a widespread social movement in Sweden during the 1960s, known as the du-reformen.
- While vad means 'what' in this phrase, the same word vad is also used in Swedish to mean 'calf' of the leg or a 'ford' for crossing water.
- The pronoun du is a cognate of the archaic English word 'thou'. Both were originally the primary singular forms of address in their respective Germanic languages.
Examples in context
- Ursäkta, vad gör du just nu?Excuse me, what are you doing right now?
- Hej, vad gör ni ikväll?Hi, what are you doing tonight?
- Förlåt, vad gör du på jobbet?Sorry, what are you doing at work?
- Hej, vad gör du?Hi, what are you doing?
Example conversation
Oscar calls Alice to see what she is up to.
- OscarHej Alice, vad gör du?Hi Alice, what are you doing?
- AliceJag läser en bok.I am reading a book.
- OscarVad gör du om en stund?What are you doing in a little while?
- AliceJag ska gå ut på en promenad.I am going to go for a walk.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, vad, CC BY-SA 4.0.
