Spanish Expression of the Day: Qué pasa

Qué pasa is a bit like saying ‘what’s up’, ‘what’s going on’’ or ‘hey’ in English, in its literal sense in Spanish meaning ‘what’s happening’ or ‘what happens’.

And just like in English, it can be an informal greeting or a way of asking what is happening.

Is there a way of distinguishing which is which in Spanish?

As with English once again, by the tone and situation. So if it’s more of an exclamation, such as ¡Qué pasa, chavales! (What’s up, guys!), it’s more of an informal greeting. 

In some parts of Spain such as the Canary Islands (also in some Latin American countries), they use the past simple form of pasar (happen) for the greeting, as in ¡Qué pasó!.

As mentioned earlier, it’s a pretty colloquial greeting, so you should use it with young people or people you know well rather than in more formal situations or with older people.

If the tone is more as a question – ¿Qué pasa? – then the user is asking what’s happening. 

Often this will be because something is wrong. They may also use the past perfect tense – ¿Qué ha pasado? (What has happened?) – to pose the question.

You can also add te – as in ¿Qué te pasa? – to ask what’s wrong with ‘you’ more specifically, if for example someone appears to be sad, angry or in pain. 

However, if someone says ¿A tí que te pasa?, it’s usually a more aggressive way of confronting a person, a bit like saying ‘What’s your problem?’.

You may also hear que pasa as part of other expressions, such as a ver que pasa (let’s see what happens), or ¿Qué me pasa? (what’s going on with me?).

Examples:

¡Qué pasa, chicas! Yo me llamo Laura. 

‘Hey, girls! My name is Laura. 

¿Pero qué pasa? ¿Se ha ido la luz?

What’s going on? did the power go?

¿Qué te pasa? Te han dicho algo en el cole?

What’s wrong? Did they say something to you at school?

¿A tí que te pasa, gillipollas? ¿Buscas problemas?

What’s your problem, arsehole? Are you looking for trouble?