¿qué demonios está pasando?
The English phrase "what the heck is going on?" is translated into Spanish as ¿qué demonios está pasando?
This phrase is used to express confusion, shock or annoyance regarding a current situation or event.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of qué (what), demonios (demons/heck), está (is) and pasando (passing/happening).
Which one should you use?
You can also use ¿qué diablos está pasando? Replacing demonios with diablos (what the devil is happening?) carries a similar level of mild frustration or surprise.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the present continuous tense está pasando to describe an ongoing situation occurring at the moment of speaking.
Did you know?
- In Spain, if someone is truly shocked by a situation, they might use the word hostia instead of 'demons' to emphasize their disbelief, although this is quite informal.
- If you are in Mexico, you might hear people use qué onda to ask what is happening, which literally translates to 'what wave' but functions as 'what's up' or 'what's going on'.
- The word qué shares a common ancestor with the English word 'who' and the Latin 'quid', tracing back to the same Proto-Indo-European root for interrogatives.
Examples in context
- No entiendo nada, ¿qué demonios está pasando?I don't understand anything, what the heck is going on?
Example conversation
Maria and Daniel enter a room and see a huge mess.
- MaríaMira el salón, ¿qué demonios está pasando?Look at the living room, what the heck is going on?
- DanielNo lo sé, María, yo tampoco lo sé.I don't know, Maria, I don't know either.
- MaríaTodo está roto y tirado por el suelo.Everything is broken and thrown on the floor.
- DanielDaniel cree que fue el perro.Daniel thinks it was the dog.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
