lo que quieras
/lo ke kjeɾas/from spelling rules
To say whatever you want in Spanish, use lo que quieras.
lo que quieras tells someone that any choice they make is fine with you. It can sound generous or, with an annoyed tone, indifferent.
What does it mean word for word?
lo que means "what" or "that which" and quieras is a form of the verb meaning "to want".
How does it change in a sentence?
quieras is in the subjunctive mood, used because the choice is open and unknown. When speaking formally, the verb changes to the polite form for "you".
How do you pronounce it?
The que sounds like the ke in kept, without any w sound and the r in quieras is a single quick tap.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use the ordinary present tense form of the verb here. The subjunctive quieras is what makes it mean "whatever you want".
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking regions, the word lo functions as a 'neuter' pronoun, which allows it to represent an abstract concept or an unspecified thing rather than a specific masculine object.
- Although que is the standard way to say 'what', it is a direct linguistic cousin to the English word 'who' through their shared Proto-Indo-European roots.
Examples in context
- Hacé lo que quieras.Do whatever you want.Hacé is the command form used in Argentina and Uruguay, meaning "do".Tatoeba #1318187 by hayastan, translation #70894 by CK
- Dile lo que quieras.Tell him whatever you want.Dile means "tell him" or "tell her".Tatoeba #5950041 by arh, translation #9855567 by DJ_Saidez
- Puedes hacer lo que quieras.You can do whatever you want to.Puedes hacer lo que quieras means "you can do whatever you want".Tatoeba #894267 by Shishir, translation #17949 by CK
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are deciding what to eat for dinner.
- SofíaPodemos pedir pizza o sushi, ¿qué prefieres?We can order pizza or sushi, what do you prefer?
- JavierPara mí está bien lo que quieras.Whatever you want is fine with me.
- SofíaEntonces pidamos sushi hoy.Then let's order sushi today.
- JavierPerfecto, me parece una buena idea.Perfect, that sounds like a good idea.
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.
