¿Qué te gustaría beber?
The English phrase "what would you like to drink?" is expressed in Spanish as ¿Qué te gustaría beber?
This phrase is a polite way to ask a person for their choice of beverage.
What does it mean word for word?
The word gustaría is the conditional form of the verb gustar, which translates to "would like".
Which one should you use?
While ¿Qué te gustaría beber? is polite and uses the conditional mood, the alternative ¿Qué quieres beber? is more direct and uses the present tense, which can sound more blunt.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the target of the question, you can adjust the pronouns: use le instead of te to be polite or formal and use les in the form ¿Qué les gustaría beber? when asking a group of people what they would like to drink.
Did you know?
- The Spanish language has a specific word, sobremesa, for the time spent talking and drinking coffee or liquor at the table after the meal has finished.
- In some Latin American countries, if you answer this question by asking for una soda, you might be served sparkling water rather than a sugary soft drink.
- In Spain, asking ¿Qué te gustaría beber? at a social gathering might be followed by a 'botellón', a custom where people gather in public spaces to share drinks from large bottles before heading to a club.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué le gustaría tomar, señor/señora?What would you like to drink, sir/madam?
- ¿Qué te gustaría beber, amigo/amiga?What would you like to drink, friend?
- ¿Puedo ofrecerte algo? ¿Qué te gustaría tomar?Can I offer you something? What would you like to drink?
Example conversation
Lucía is offering Javier a drink at home.
- LucíaJavier, ¿qué te gustaría beber?Javier, what would you like to drink?
- JavierMe gustaría un jugo de naranja, por favor.I would like an orange juice, please.
- LucíaPerfecto, lo preparo ahora mismo.Perfect, I'll prepare it right now.
- JavierMuchas gracias, Lucía.Thank you very much, Lucía.
