¿qué estás haciendo?
¿qué estás haciendo? is the Spanish way to say "what are you doing?"
This phrase is used to ask a question about someone's current activity.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of qué (what), estás (you are) and haciendo (doing).
Which one should you use?
You may see the subject pronoun added for emphasis in the informal form ¿qué estás haciendo tú? In formal contexts, the verb changes to reflect the formal address.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the present continuous tense to ask about an action happening right at this moment. The verb estar is conjugated in the present tense as estás for the second-person singular (informal) and está for the third-person singular (used for the formal 'usted'). The phrase ¿qué está haciendo? can mean both "what are you (formal) doing?" and "what is he/she/it doing?" depending on the context.
Did you know?
- If you are in a very informal setting in Mexico, you might hear someone say ¿qué onda? instead of asking about a specific action, which functions more like 'what's up?'
- In some Caribbean dialects, the 's' at the end of estás is often dropped in speech, making the phrase sound like ¿qué etá haciendo?
- The verb hacer (to do/make) is the root of the English word 'fact', which comes from the Latin 'factum', meaning 'something done'.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué vas a hacer más tarde?What are you doing later?
- ¿Qué está haciendo, señor?What are you doing, sir?
- ¿Qué está usted haciendo, señora?What are you doing, ma'am?
- ¿Qué hacen ustedes?What are you doing?
- ¿Qué estás haciendo, amigo?What are you doing, friend?
- ¿Qué estás haciendo, hermano?What are you doing, brother?
- ¿Qué hacen, chicos?What are you doing, guys?
- ¿Qué estás haciendo en la cocina?What are you doing in the kitchen?
Example conversation
Javier calls Sofía on the phone.
- JavierHola Sofía, ¿qué estás haciendo?Hi Sofia, what are you doing?
- SofíaEstoy leyendo un libro.I am reading a book.
- Javier¿Quieres ir al cine hoy?Do you want to go to the cinema today?
- SofíaSí, me parece una buena idea.Yes, that sounds like a good idea.
