¿Qué demonios?
mild
A mild Mexican way to say "what the hell" is ¿Qué demonios? or ¿Qué diablos? The strong Mexican version is ¿Qué chingados?, which is vulgar and should be used with care.
Meaning: exclamation of surprise or annoyance (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Mexican | Note |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué demonios? | mild |
| ¿Qué diablos? | mild |
| ¿Qué chingados? | Mexico, vulgar |
Use ¿Qué diablos? when you are surprised or annoyed in front of people you do not know well. Chingados belongs only with close friends.
Which one should you use?
The verb chingar is one of the most flexible swear words in Mexico, and the writer Octavio Paz discussed it in his essay collection El laberinto de la soledad.
How does it change in a sentence?
These are questions only in form. The tone shows annoyance rather than a real request for information.
Did you know?
- Octavio Paz won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué demonios estás haciendo?What the hell are you doing?
- ¿Qué chingados fue eso?What the hell was that?
Example conversation
Hector and his brother Saúl find the kitchen flooded.
- Hector¿Qué diablos pasó aquí?What the hell happened here?
- SaúlSe rompió la tubería.The pipe broke.
- Hector¿Qué demonios hacemos ahora?What the hell do we do now?
- SaúlLlamemos a un plomero.Let us call a plumber.
