Translation of "what" - English-Spanish dictionary


pronoun, determiner uk /wɒt/ us /hwʌt, hwɑt/

A1 used to ask for information about something

What’s this?
What time is it?

A1 informal used when you have not heard what someone has said and you want them to repeat it

‘Do you want a drink, Tom?’ ‘What?’

B1 used to mean something without giving it a name

lo que
I heard what he said.
Do you know what I mean?

informal used to ask what someone wants when they call you

‘Jenny?’ ‘Yes, what?’
what about…?

A2 used to suggest something

¿y si…?
What about asking Martin to help?
what a/an…

B1 used to give your opinion

What an awful day!
what if…?

B1 used to ask about something that could happen in the future, especially something bad

¿y si…?
What if I miss the plane?
what… for?

used to ask about the reason or the purpose for something

¿para qué…?
What are these tools for?
What are you doing that for?

(Translation of “what” from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)


pronoun, adjective /wot/


What street is this?
What time is it?
What (kind of) bird is that?
What is he reading?
What did you say?
What is this cake made of?
’What do you want to be when you grow up?’ ’A doctor.’
Tell me what you mean
I asked him what clothes I should wear.

(also adverb ) used in exclamations of surprise, anger etc

What clothes she wears!
What a fool he is!
What naughty children they are!
What a silly film this is!
whatever relative adjective, relative pronoun

any (thing(s) or amount) that

todo(s) lo(s) … que
I’ll lend you whatever (books) you need.
whatnot noun

such things

esas cosas, cosas de ese tipo
He told me all about publishing and whatnot.
what’s-his/-her/-its etc -name noun

used in referring vaguely to a person or thing

fulano, mengano
Where does what’s-his-name live?
whatsoever /-sou-/ adjective

at all

en absoluto, para nada
That’s nothing whatsoever to do with me.
know what’s what

to be able to tell what is important

saber de qué va la cosa
You need to know what’s what in this job.
what about?

used in asking whether the listener would like (to do) something

qué tal, y si, qué te/os/… parece
What about a glass of milk?
What about going to the cinema?

used in asking for news or advice

qué tal, y
What about your new book?
What about the other problem?
what … for


por qué, para qué
What did he do that for?

for what purpose(?)

para qué
What is this switch for?
what have you

and similar things; and so on

y tal
There were clothes, books and what have you lying scattered about the room..
what if?

what will or would happen if …?

¿y si…?
What if he comes back?
what … like?

used when asking for information about someone or something

’What does it look like?’ ’It’s small and square.’
’What’s her mother like?’ ’Oh, she’s quite nice.’
We may go – it depends (on) what the weather’s like.
what of it?

used in replying, to suggest that what has been done, said etc is not important

¿y qué?
’You’ve offended him.’ ’What of it?’
what with

because of

entre… y, con lo de… y…
What with taking no exercise and being too fat, it’s no surprise that he had a heart attack.

(Translation of “what” from the PASSWORD English-Spanish Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)