lo que hago
/lo ke aɡo/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "what I do" is translated as lo que hago.
The phrase lo que hago refers to the activities or tasks that a person performs as part of their life or job. For example, if you are describing your profession, you might use words like camarero for a male waiter or camarera for a female waiter to specify what it is that you do.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of lo que, a neuter relative pronoun meaning "that which" or "the thing that" and hago, which is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb "hacer" (to do or make).
Which one should you use?
Use lo que hago when you are referring to an abstract concept or a set of actions. Do not confuse this with qué hago, which is used for direct questions such as "What am I doing?"
How do you pronounce it?
/lo ke aɡo/
Did you know?
- The lo in lo que hago comes from the Latin illud, which was a neuter pronoun. Spanish has lost most of its neuter nouns, but this specific grammatical structure preserves that ancient Latin neuter form.
- If you use lo que hago to describe your job, you might find that Spanish speakers often use the verb ser (to be) instead of hacer (to do). For example, they say 'I am a teacher' rather than 'Teaching is what I do'.
- In Spanish, the verb hacer in lo que hago is used for both 'do' and 'make'. This means the phrase can refer to a task you perform or something physical you create, depending on the context.
Examples in context
- Soy feliz haciendo lo que hago.I'm happy doing what I do.This sentence shows how to use lo que hago to express happiness in one's actions.Tatoeba #2154910 by hayastan, translation #2044609 by CK
- Juro que esto es lo que hago cada mañana.I swear this is what I do every morning.This sentence uses lo que hago to describe a daily morning routine.Tatoeba #1642577 by marcelostockle, translation #1244894 by dotheduyet1999
- No soy lo que hago, soy lo que puedo hacer.I'm not what I do, I am what I can do.This sentence uses lo que hago to contrast one's actions with one's potential.Tatoeba #601658 by Shishir, translation #601550 by ain
- Soy médico.I am a doctor.
- Me dedico a la enseñanza.I dedicate myself to teaching.
- Soy estudiante.I am a student.
- Me dedico a la fotografía.I dedicate myself to photography.
- Trabajo de camarero/a.I work as a waiter/waitress.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía asks Alejandro about his daily routine at work.
- AlejandroEs complicado explicar lo que hago.It is complicated to explain what I do.
- LucíaDime más sobre tu trabajo.Tell me more about your job.
- AlejandroEscribo códigos todo el día.I write code all day.
- LucíaEso suena muy interesante, Alejandro.That sounds very interesting, Alejandro.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lo, que, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
