¿qué carajos estás haciendo?
The English phrase "wtf are you doing?" can be translated into Spanish as ¿qué carajos estás haciendo?
¿qué carajos estás haciendo? is used to express shock, confusion or intense irritation regarding someone's current behavior.
Which one should you use?
While ¿qué carajos estás haciendo? is a common way to express this, the phrase ¿qué mierda estás haciendo? acts as a more vulgar and aggressive alternative.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
If you want to be even more vulgar and aggressive, you can use the slang version ¿qué mierda estás haciendo?
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the present continuous tense (estás haciendo) to refer to an action that is happening right now.
Did you know?
- In many parts of Spain, you might hear people replace carajos with cojones to express the same level of shock or disbelief. While cojones literally refers to 'testicles', it is frequently used as a versatile intensifier for frustration.
- If you use this phrase in Mexico, you might hear people use qué chingados estás haciendo? instead. While carajos is understood, chingados is a much more localized and culturally specific way to express that intense, vulgar confusion.
- The word qué shares a common ancestor with the English word 'what' and the Latin 'quid'. This ancient linguistic connection traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷid.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué diablos estás haciendo?What the hell are you doing?
Example conversation
Lucía finds Mateo eating her lunch.
- LucíaMateo, ¿qué carajos estás haciendo?Mateo, WTF are you doing?
- MateoSolo probaba un poco de tu comida.I was just tasting some of your food.
- Lucía¡Eso era mi almuerzo completo!That was my whole lunch!
- MateoLo siento, te compraré otro.I'm sorry, I'll buy you another one.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
