How do you say “what’s up?” in Spanish?

When you’re walking down the street and you see your friends coming the other way you probably don’t say “Greetings, how are you?” No, you’re far more likely to give them a very informal “what’s up!?” Well, this greeting also exists in Spanish. While we have discussed many of the other common formal greetings, it’s also very popular to say “what’s up” to close friends or family. On the other hand, you probably would not say them to a boss, professor, grandmother, police officer, or any other person that you want to treat with the utmost respect. There are also a lot of regionally specific ways to say what up in various Spanish-speaking countries. Where relevant, we will indicate the country in which the greeting is most popular!

¿Qué pasa? is probably the most commonly used and most literal way of saying “what’s up”. The direct translation is more like “what happens” or “what is happening”, but it is used by Spanish speakers in exactly the same way that “what’s up” is used by English speakers. You may also hear the past version, “Qué pasó” which translates to “what has happened?”.

¿Qué tal? is a more general greeting that does not really have an exact translation, but is also used in a similar way to “what’s up”. This greeting deserves some attention of its own, so we will have an entire article dedicated to how it is used, and in which circumstances it is appropriate.

In Mexico and parts of Latinoamerica, you may also hear people saying ¿Qué onda? This is an unusual one that also shows up on many of our list Spanish slang.
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That is because it literally translates to “what wave?”. It is usually utilized to express surprise or bewilderment at the circumstances. Although it seems strange, it is actually a very popular greeting. It is believed that it originally stemmed from hippie and beatnik culture amongst non-conformist young adults in Mexico during the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s.

Speaking of unusual greetings, ¿Qué pedo? is another common slang way of saying what’s up in Mexican Spanish. This one shows up on our list of 100 Funny Spanish phrases, idioms, and proverbs. It actually translates literally to what fart. Yes, you read that right. This is because “pedo” is also used to mean “argument” or “fight” in Mexican slang. So, although it is used to mean “what’s up”, it could be more literally understood as “what’s the problem”.

Sometimes you will hear people say Qué hay de nuevo, or the abbreviated version, Qué hay. You may remember from your beginner Spanish courses that hay means “there is”. So, this means “what is there”, although it is understood as “what’s going on” or “what’s up” in Spanish. The past version, which would translate to “what’s happened” or “what was going” on is ¿Qué hubo?

Slang for “what’s up?” in Spanish

Here are some other slightly less common Regional Spanish slang greetings that roughly mean what’s up.

You will notice that the Spanish word for up (“arriba”) does not appear in any of these. There is no exact literal equivalent of “what’s up” in Spanish because it would actually mean “what is up in the air?”. But all of these phrases roughly translate to “what’s up” in the sense of “what’s happening with you?”.

It’s it’s very beneficial to learn various regional greetings, and slightly less formal ways saying hello in Spanish speaking countries. If you only use strictly textbook Spanish, you may come across as stiff and unfriendly. On the other hand, if you mix in some colloquialisms now and then, you will seem like less of an outsider (and will seem more approachable to Spanish speakers). This will lead to you having more real-world Spanish conversations – which will in turn make you a more comfortable Spanish speaker.

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