Whether we use it as a conversation starter or to genuinely ask what someone’s doing, in Spanish, we ask “What are you doing?” a lot. The 4 ways you can say “What are you doing?” in Spanish is: Depending on your tone and how you say it, “what are you doing” can mean a lot of
different things. Read on to learn all of the different ways to say What are you doing? in Spanish and find out which option is best to use!
¿Qué estás haciendo?
First, we have ¿Qué estás haciendo?, which directly translates to “What are you doing?” It works in the same kind of way as in English, so we use it to ask what the person is currently doing, at this moment.
How to say What are you doing right now?
If we want to know what someone is doing now, we might add ahora (which means “now”) or en este momento (which means “at this moment”) to be more specific.
- ¿Qué estás haciendo ahora?
- ¿Qué estás haciendo en ese momento?
We hope you don’t have to use it in this situation, but if you wanted to reprimand someone, you can also use ¿Qué estás haciendo? but say it in a more severe, and accusatory way. It is something you might hear a parent saying if scolding a child.
¿Qué haces?
¿Qué haces? literally means “What do you do?”. It can be used in conversation to mean what do you do for a living or for work. But it can also be used to ask what you’re doing (at the moment).
It is a more casual and informal version of ¿Qué estás haciendo? It is akin to asking “What’s up?” or “What are you up to?” in English.
¿Qué haces? can also be used to talk about what you are doing today, tomorrow, or next week, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about this exact moment. So we may say ¿Qué haces hoy / mañana / la semana que viene?, which means “What are you doing today / tomorrow / this coming week?”
¿En qué andas? or ¿Qué andas haciendo?
Another way of asking “What are you doing” is to ask ¿En qué andas? or ¿Qué andas haciendo?
These two options can be used to ask someone what they are doing at the moment, but they might also be used to ask what is up with someone.
¿En qué andas? means “What are you up to?” and ¿Qué andas haciendo? means “What is going on?” They are used when we want to know about someone’s life in general.
How to say WYD in Spanish
WYD stands for What (are) you doing. It is abbreviated to WYD in text-speak. It basically means “What’s up” or “What are you up to”. While Spanish text slang is plentiful there isn’t really an equivalent to WYD in Spanish.
The closest equivalent to WYD in Spanish is ¿que haces ? and ¿En qué andas? which are the most casual ways of asking What are you doing in Spanish.
Conclusion
To remember all of this, here’s a short summary of how to say “What are you doing?” in Spanish.
- ¿Qué estás haciendo? – to ask what someone is doing at the moment of speaking.
- ¿Qué haces? – to ask what someone is doing at the moment of speaking, that day, or at some time in the future. It may also be used as “What do you do?”
- ¿En qué andas?and ¿Qué andas haciendo?– to ask what someone is doing at the moment of speaking, or to ask what’s going on with someone’s life.
Keep learning about how to ask people about their state and how they’re doing
- 18 Ways to Say How Are You in Spanish
- 4 Ways to Say How Are You Feeling in Spanish
- How to Respond to ¿Cómo estás? – 19 Replies Used by Locals
Sofía is a writer and copy editor from Argentina. She studied Art History in college, has a master's degree in Journalism and is currently working on her PhD on Literature and Cultural Critique.