¿a qué quieres jugar?
The English phrase "what do you want to play?" is translated into Spanish as ¿a qué quieres jugar?
This phrase is used to ask someone which game or sport they would like to play. Note that jugar refers specifically to games or sports. If you are asking someone what musical instrument they want to play, you should use the verb tocar instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "to what do you want to play?" because the Spanish verb jugar requires the preposition a when you are specifying the particular game or sport being played.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the subject of the question, you can use different conjugations of the verb querer. Use quiere instead of quieres to use the formal "you", and use quieren if you are asking a group of people what they want to play.
Did you know?
- The Spanish word jugar is a distant relative of the English word 'joke'. Both words trace their roots back to the Latin iocus, which meant 'jest' or 'joke'.
- If you are in a casino, you use jugar for gambling, but the word for a 'gambler' is jugador, the same word used for a 'player' in a soccer match.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, you might hear the phrase jugar a used to describe role-playing or pretending to be something, such as jugar a los profesores for 'playing school'.
Examples in context
- Me gustaría jugar al tenis, si es posible.I would like to play tennis, if possible.
- Me encantaría jugar videojuegos hoy. ¿Y tú?I would love to play video games today. And you?
- ¿A qué quieres jugar? ¿Al fútbol o al baloncesto?What do you want to play? Soccer or basketball?
- Si tienes tiempo, ¿a qué quieres jugar?If you have time, what do you want to play?
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding on a game for the afternoon.
- JavierHola Sofía, ¿a qué quieres jugar?Hi Sofia, what do you want to play?
- SofíaQuiero jugar al fútbol, Javier.I want to play soccer, Javier.
- JavierMe parece bien, vamos al campo.Sounds good to me, let's go to the field.
- SofíaVale, busco el balón ahora.Okay, I'll look for the ball now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, jugar, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
