How to Say "What Did She Say?" in Spanish

¿qué dijo?

The English phrase "what did she say?" is translated into Spanish as ¿qué dijo?

This phrase is used to ask for the specific words or information that a female person previously spoke. Depending on your focus, you might use different variations. For example, ¿Qué ha dicho ella? implies a very recent action and is used to ask what someone has just said, while ¿Qué mencionó ella? focuses specifically on what someone mentioned rather than just the act of speaking. If you wish to be very polite and formal, you can use ¿Podría repetir lo que ella mencionó? to ask someone to repeat what she said.

Which one should you use?

The form ¿qué dijo? is the third-person singular preterite (past tense) form of the verb decir (to say). While it is the standard way to ask about a third party, please note that ¿qué dijo? is also the formal usted version used when addressing someone directly, so it can also mean "what did you say?" in a formal context. If you want to focus on a specific remark, ¿Cuál fue su comentario? is a formal way to ask what someone said by focusing on their comment.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

¿qué dijo? is considered a standard way to ask this in many Spanish-speaking regions. For a more formal and polite approach, particularly when asking for repetition, use ¿Podría repetir lo que ella mencionó? Another formal option is ¿Cuál fue su comentario?, which focuses on the person's comment.

Is it said differently in some regions?

In Mexico, it is common to use the verb decir to ask "What did she say?" using the phrase ¿Qué dijo ella?

How does it change in a sentence?

In written Spanish, the question must begin with an opening inverted question mark (¿). You can make the subject explicit by using ¿Qué dijo ella?, which is helpful if the context does not already make it clear who is being discussed. If you add the indirect object pronoun te, the phrase ¿qué te dijo? changes the meaning to "what did she say to you?"

Did you know?

While ¿qué dijo? is the standard phrase, some speakers may use the word mandar instead of decir in certain regions to ask what was said, which literally means 'to command'.
The verb dijo is a direct descendant of the Latin 'dīxit', which is the root of the English word 'dictate'.
In many Spanish-speaking cultures, repeating the phrase ¿qué dijo? with a rising intonation can be interpreted as a request for clarification or as a sign of disbelief, depending on the context.

Example conversation

Elena and Mateo are talking about a message from a friend.

Elena

María me llamó hace un momento.
Maria called me a moment ago.
Mateo

¿Qué dijo?
What did she say?
Elena

Dijo que vendrá a la fiesta.
She said she is coming to the party.
Mateo

¡Qué bueno!
That's great!

Sources

Word origins: Wiktionary entries dijo, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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How to Say “What Did She Say?” in Spanish