You’re in a quaint little shop somewhere in Barcelona when you spot something that looks unique, eye-catching, and unlike anything you’ve seen before. You pick it up, study it, and even try to Google Lens it, but you’re out of luck.
Now what?
Just turn to the shopkeeper and ask ¿qué es esto?
As you might have guessed from the title of this post, it means “What is this”?
How to Say “What is This” in Spanish
¿Qué es esto? means “what is this?” in the context of “what is this thing here?”.
Qué es is actually a very good phrase to learn as it can be used in a variety of situations, such as when you’re enquiring about the identity of an item or the price of something:
- What is this place? = ¿Qué es este lugar?
- What is this building? = ¿Qué es este edificio?
- What is this food? = ¿Qué es esta comida?
- What is he doing here?= ¿Qué está haciendo él aquí?
- What is she doing here? = ¿Que está haciendo ella aquí?
As with many Spanish words, “this” is gender specific.
- Esta = Feminine
- Este = Masculine
- Esto = Non-Specific
In the last case, we use esto when we don’t know to what we are referring. It’s used in the question ¿Qué es esto? as we obviously don’t know what the thing is (otherwise we wouldn’t be asking the question!). If we know, however, then we change the word as per the gender:
- This is a book = Este es un libro.
- This is a bag = Esta es una bolsa.
- What is this? = ¿Qué es esto?
Cómo vs Qué in Spanish
If you run a few common sentences through translation programs like Google Translate, you’ll see that cómo occasionally appears as “what”. More commonly, it’s used to mean “how”, which itself serves as a translation of “in what way”.
In most cases, if you need “what”, use qué.
How to Ask for the Time in Spanish
We can also use qué es to ask what time it is, which is a useful phrase if you’re not wearing a watch and don’t have a phone to hand (which, let’s be honest, is getting increasingly rare these days).
In this case, we use ¿qué hora es? which literally means “what time is it?”. Understanding how to tell the time in a new language is a challenge and it requires more page space than we have here (we’ll leave that for another article), but here are some quick answers to look out for:
- It is a quarter past 1 = Es la una y cuarto.
- It is 1 o’clock = Es la una.
- It is 5 o’clock = Son las 5.
Example Phrases and How to Say Them
We’re already discussed a few uses of ¿Qué es esto?, as well as the scenarios in which you can use this phrase. But here are a few more examples to make sure the phrase sticks:
| Spanish Word | English Translation | Pronunciation |
| ¿Qué tal esto? | What about this? | Qué tal es-to |
| Cómo se llama esto | What is this called? | Có-mo se lla-ma es-to |
| ¿Para qué sirve esto? | What is this for? | Pa-ra qué sir-ve es-to |
| ¿Por qué me das esto? | Why are you giving me this? | Por qué me das es-to |
| ¿Qué es esto? | What’s this? | Qué es es-to |
What About Por Qué?
If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that the Spanish word for “why”, por qué, also uses qué, meaning “what”.
Essentially, when you’re asking “why” in Spanish, you’re asking “for what?” It might sound strange to an English ear, but not if you give it a little thought. After all, “why” is basically the equivalent of “for what purpose?”.
It’s also something you will find in other languages, including non-romantic languages. In Greek, for instance, the word “why” is γιατι, which comes from the words για and τι, literally meaning “for what?”
Etymology Check
The etymology of question words like “what” isn’t always easy to trace, nor is it as interesting as some of the other words we cover in these guides.
But that’s not the case here.
Qué comes from the Latin quid, as in the expression quid pro quo which is often translated as “something for something” but actually means something more like “what for what” or “what for where”.
It’s also thought that the Latin quid gives us the British slang “quid”, which is used to reference money in the same way as the American “bucks” (although you can never have “quids”). The idea is that quid pro quo references an exchange, much like currency, so the British “quid” evolved from that. However, this is debated, and other origin stories have been suggested.
Other romance languages use variations of quid to mean “what”? These include the Italian che and the Romanian tse. Que is also used in Portuguese and French.
Learning Spanish Words and Phrases like “What is This?”
If you have ever used a language app, you’ll know that the first phrases they teach aren’t always helpful. The best apps are from a bygone era and often teach you things that aren’t really relevant.
Pimsleur is a great example. We love it at 88Weeks. We think it’s one of the best ways to learn Spanish, French, and other major languages (it has limitations with less popular options, although it’s still a good option when you just start learning). However, a large percentage of your first few lessons are spent learning how to ask for directions.
Let’s be honest, in this day and age, you’re not going to stop the random Spanish man or woman on the street and try to stumble your way through a conversation about finding a certain bar or hotel. You’re just going to whip out your phone and let Google Maps do the work.
When you’re learning Spanish, therefore, you want the questions that you pose to shopkeepers, friends, and even strangers. That’s where questions like “what is this?” come in.
Not sure what something is in a shop? Now you can ask. Has your friend given you strange-looking food and you want to query them as to its identity? Now you can.
For more helpful phrases that will serve you better than directional nonsense, check out our guide to saying I Do Not Know in Spanish as well as this one on saying Can I Go to the Bathroom?