¿qué pasa?
/ˈke ˈpasa/word by word
The English phrase "what's up?" can be translated into Spanish as ¿qué pasa?
¿qué pasa? is a common way to say "What's up?" when speaking to friends and acquaintances. It is used to ask how someone is or what is happening.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "what happens?"
Which one should you use?
While ¿qué pasa? is a standard way to ask what is happening, you may also encounter ¿qué hay? to mean "What's up?" and in Colombia, people specifically use ¿qué hubo? to mean "What's up?" or "What's happening?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
¿qué pasa? is an informal expression. Similarly, ¿qué hay? and ¿qué hubo? are also informal ways to greet others.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Colombia, ¿qué hubo? is a common informal way to say "What's up?" or "What's happening?"
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈke ˈpasa/
When do people say it?
When someone greets you with ¿qué pasa?, a very common response is Nada, which means "Nothing."
Did you know?
- In some regions, ¿qué pasa? is used as a confrontational challenge similar to 'you got a problem with me?' depending on the body language.
- The word pasa in the phrase ¿qué pasa? comes from the Latin word for 'spread grape', which is where English gets the word 'raisin'.
- If you are in Colombia, you will often hear ¿qué hubo? shortened in casual speech to just ¿quihubo? or even jubo?
Examples in context
- No sé, ¿qué pasa?I don't know, what's up?
Example conversation
Javier meets Lucía on the street.
- JavierHola, Lucía, ¿qué pasa?Hello, Lucía, what's up?
- LucíaNada especial, solo voy al trabajo.Nothing special, I'm just going to work.
- JavierEstá bien, nos vemos luego.Alright, see you later.
- LucíaVale, ¡hasta luego!Okay, see you later!
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (qué, pasa) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pasa, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
