Qu'est-ce que tu veux ?
In French, "what do you want" is expressed as Qu'est-ce que tu veux ?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their desires or what they wish to obtain.
What does it mean word for word?
The component Qu'est-ce que literally translates to "What is it that".
Which one should you use?
While Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? is used in friendly or informal settings, you should use Qu'est-ce que vous voulez ? when speaking to a stranger, a superior or a group of people.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? is a friendly and commonly used way to ask someone what they want. For more relaxed or highly informal spoken situations, you might hear Tu désires quoi? or Tu veux quoi ? In polite or formal situations, you can use Que désirez-vous? or the more service-oriented Que puis-je faire pour vous?, which translates to "What can I do for you?"
Did you know?
- In certain regions, a shrug of the shoulders combined with Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? can be used as an idiom meaning 'It is what it is' or 'What can you do?'
- In French, using tu instead of vous when asking what someone wants can be seen as an aggressive act if the other person is a stranger.
- While Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? is the standard way to ask the question, in very fast spoken French, the Qu'est-ce que often blends into a sound like 'kesk'.
Examples in context
- Qu'est-ce que tu veux ?What do you want?This example shows how to use Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? to ask "What do you want?"Tatoeba #3256346 by nimfeo, translation #1622 by CK
- Que désirez-vous, madame?What do you want, madam?
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are looking at a menu together.
- ManonQu'est-ce que tu veux, Hugo ?What do you want, Hugo?
- HugoJe veux un burger et des frites.I want a burger and fries.
- ManonC'est un bon choix !That's a good choice!
- HugoEt toi, qu'est-ce que tu veux ?And you, what do you want?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
