¿Qué quieres decir?
In Spanish, "what do you mean?" is expressed as ¿Qué quieres decir?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone to clarify or explain what they are trying to say.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ¿Qué quieres decir? literally translates to "What do you want to say?"
Which one should you use?
While ¿Qué quieres decir? asks for a clarification of meaning, ¿A qué te refieres? is more specific to asking what subject or thing the person is referring to. In some Latin American countries, you may also hear the informal phrase ¿Cómo así? to mean "How so?"
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries, the informal phrase ¿Qué quieres decir con eso? is used to ask "What do you mean with that?"
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the question formal, use the third-person singular form quiere instead of the informal quieres. If you are asking a group of people what they mean, use the plural form ¿Qué quieren decir?
Did you know?
- The word qué shares a common ancestor with the Latin word 'quid', which is the very same root used in the English word 'quid pro quo'.
- If you use the phrase ¿Qué quieres decir? in a heated argument, you might sound like you are questioning the person's intentions rather than their words.
Examples in context
- El informe es bastante técnico. / ¿Podría explicarme qué quiere decir? / Necesitamos hacer algunos ajustes antes de la reunión. / ¿Qué significa?The report is quite technical. / Could you explain to me what you mean? / We need to make some adjustments before the meeting. / What does it mean?
- No puedo creer que haya ganado. / ¿A qué te refieres?I can't believe I won. / What do you mean?
- Voy a comprar un pasaje a Europa. / ¿Cómo así?I'm going to buy a ticket to Europe. / How so?
- Creo que deberías contarle a tu hermana sobre el problema. / ¿Qué quieres decir con eso?I think you should tell your sister about the issue. / What do you mean?
- Karen ganó el concurso de baile. / ¿Qué quieres decir?Karen won the dance contest. / What do you mean?
- No te entiendo, ¿qué quieres decir?I don't understand you, what do you mean?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries decir, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
