¿por qué estás triste?
The English phrase "why are you sad" is translated into Spanish as ¿por qué estás triste?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone the reason for their current feeling of sadness.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of por qué (why), estás (you are – temporary state) and triste (sad).
Which one should you use?
While ¿por qué estás triste? asks about a current mood, using the verb eres instead of estás (creating ¿por qué eres triste?) would imply that sadness is a permanent personality trait rather than a temporary feeling.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb estás is the second-person singular form of estar, which is used for temporary emotional states. To ask the question to a group of people, you must change the verb to están and the adjective to the plural tristes to form ¿Por qué están tristes?
Did you know?
- While triste usually describes a mood, it can also be used to describe a bleak or gloomy place, such as una casa triste.
- Depending on the region, a person might answer ¿por qué estás triste? with estoy bajoneado, a slang term derived from the idea of feeling 'let down' or 'low'.
- In formal or poetic Spanish, the word triste can be used as a synonym for 'poor' or 'unfortunate' to describe a person's life circumstances.
Examples in context
- ¿Por qué estás triste?Why are you sad?This sentence is useful for asking someone why they are currently feeling sad using the form ¿por qué estás triste?Tatoeba #1827542 by marcelostockle, translation #4495275 by CK
- Te veo llorar, ¿por qué estás triste?I see you crying, why are you sad?
Example conversation
Alejandro finds Sofía sitting alone in the park.
- AlejandroSofía, ¿por qué estás triste?Sofía, why are you sad?
- SofíaTuve un mal día en el trabajo.I had a bad day at work.
- AlejandroLo siento mucho, amiga.I am very sorry, friend.
- SofíaGracias por preguntar, Alejandro.Thanks for asking, Alejandro.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
