o que você está fazendo
In Portuguese, "wyd" corresponds to the phrase o que você está fazendo.
This phrase is used to ask about someone's current activity, essentially asking "what are you doing?" In casual text messaging, it is frequently abbreviated as o que vc tá fazendo or oq vc tá fazendo.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The standard phrase is o que você está fazendo. In casual speech and texting, the verb está is often shortened to tá, resulting in o que você tá fazendo. For very informal slang among friends and peers in Brazil, you might hear o que tu tá fazendo? Conversely, O que está a fazer? is the formal way to ask this question.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Brazil, o que você está fazendo? is a frequent way to ask someone what they are doing. In Portugal, a common informal way to ask the same question is O que estás a fazer?
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the present continuous tense, which is formed using the verb estar (to be) and the gerund of the main verb.
Did you know?
- The word você actually began as a phrase meaning 'your mercy'. It is a shortened version of vossa mercee and was originally used to address people with high social status.
- In very fast casual speech, o que você can be compressed into a single sound that resembles o que cê, making the phrase almost unrecognizable to a beginner.
- In many parts of Brazil, people will replace você with tu when asking 'wyd', but they often still use the third-person verb form instead of the second-person.
Examples in context
- Oi! O que você está fazendo? Estou lendo um livro.Hi! What are you doing? I'm reading a book.
- O que estás a fazer? Estou a ver um filme.What are you doing? I'm watching a movie.
- O que tu tá fazendo? Tô mexendo no meu celular.What are you doing? I'm messing around with my phone.
- O que você está fazendo agora?What are you doing now?
- Ei, o que você está fazendo?Hey, what are you doing?
Example conversation
Felipe is texting Mariana to see if she wants to hang out.
- FelipeOi Mariana, o que você está fazendo?Hi Mariana, what are you doing?
- MarianaEstou só assistindo um filme.I am just watching a movie.
- FelipeQue legal. Quer sair depois?That's cool. Do you want to go out later?
- MarianaSim, eu adoraria!Yes, I would love to!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries está, o, que, você, CC BY-SA 4.0.
