¿qué onda?
/ˈke ˈonda/word by word
In Spanish, "wtw" (what's the word) is expressed as ¿qué onda?
The phrase ¿qué onda? is an informal greeting used to ask how someone is doing or to ask what is currently happening in a situation, similar to the English "what's up?"
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "what wave?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
¿qué onda? is an informal expression. For another informal way to express the same sentiment, you can use ¿Qué me cuentas?, which translates to "What can you tell me?"
How does it change in a sentence?
You can use the construction ¿Qué onda con…? followed by a noun to ask "What's the deal with [something/someone]?"
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈke ˈonda/
Did you know?
- While ¿qué onda? is common across Latin America, it is most strongly associated with Mexican Spanish and is rarely used in Spain, where people prefer ¿qué pasa?
- In some regions, if you ask ¿qué onda? and the other person replies ¡Buena onda!, they are not talking about a wave, but are telling you that you have a 'good vibe'.
- The Spanish word onda shares a common ancestor with the English word 'undulate', as both derive from the Latin 'unda' for 'wave'.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué onda? Todo bien por aquí.What's up? Everything is good here.
Example conversation
Two friends meet accidentally at a cafe.
- Sofía¡Mateo! ¿Qué onda?Mateo! What's up?
- MateoHola, Sofía. Todo tranquilo, ¿y tú?Hi, Sofía. Everything is chill, and you?
- SofíaMuy bien, solo estoy paseando.Very well, I'm just walking around.
- MateoQué bueno. Me alegra verte.That's great. I'm glad to see you.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (qué, onda) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries onda, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
