“What are you doing?” is a common question we use daily to inquire about someone’s current activity or to initiate a conversation. The expression varies across languages, reflecting the unique syntax and cultural nuances of each linguistic community. Discovering how to ask this question in 70 different languages not only enriches our linguistic knowledge but also connects us more deeply with people from different parts of the world. Let’s embark on a linguistic journey to explore this universal question across the globe.
- Afrikaans (🇿🇦) – Wat maak jy? | Pronunciation: Vat maak yay
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Çfarë po bën? | Pronunciation: Ch-fa-re po ben
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – ماذا تفعل؟ (Maza taf‘alu?) | Pronunciation: Ma-za ta-fa-lu?
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Ի՞նչ ես անում (Inch es anum?) | Pronunciation: Eench es ah-num?
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Nə edirsin? | Pronunciation: Neh eh-deer-sin?
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Zer egiten ari zara? | Pronunciation: Zehr eh-gee-ten ah-ree zah-rah?
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Што ты робіш? (Shto ty robish?) | Pronunciation: Shto tee ro-beesh?
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – তুমি কি করছো? (Tumi ki korcho?) | Pronunciation: Too-mee kee kor-cho?
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Šta radiš? | Pronunciation: Shta ra-deesh?
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Какво правиш? (Kakvo pravish?) | Pronunciation: Kak-vo pra-vish?
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Què estàs fent? | Pronunciation: Keh es-tas fen?
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Co děláš? | Pronunciation: Tso de-lash?
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Hvad laver du? | Pronunciation: Vad lah-ver doo?
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Wat ben je aan het doen? | Pronunciation: Vat ben yeh ahn het doo-en?
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – What are you doing? | Pronunciation: What are you doing?
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Mida sa teed? | Pronunciation: Mee-da sah teed?
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – چه کار میکنی؟ (Che kār mikoni?) | Pronunciation: Cheh kar mee-ko-nee?
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Mitä sinä teet? | Pronunciation: Mee-tah see-nah te-et?
- French (🇫🇷) – Que fais-tu? | Pronunciation: Kuh feh-tu?
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – რას აკეთებთ? (Ras aketebt?) | Pronunciation: Rahs ah-keh-tebt?
- German (🇩🇪) – Was machst du? | Pronunciation: Vas makhsht doo?
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Τι κάνεις; (Ti kaneis?) | Pronunciation: Tee ka-nees?
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – מה אתה עושה? (Ma atah ose?) | Pronunciation: Mah ah-tah oh-seh?
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – आप क्या कर रहे हैं? (Aap kya kar rahe hain?) | Pronunciation: Aap kyah kar ra-hay hain?
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Mit csinálsz? | Pronunciation: Meet chee-nahlz?
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Hvað ertu að gera? | Pronunciation: Kvath ert-oo ath yeh-ra?
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Apa yang kamu lakukan? | Pronunciation: Ah-pah yahng kah-moo lah-koo-kahn?
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Cad atá tú a dhéanamh? | Pronunciation: Kahd ah-taw too ah yay-nuv?
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Cosa stai facendo? | Pronunciation: Ko-sah sty fah-chen-doh?
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – 何をしていますか？ (Nani o shite imasu ka?) | Pronunciation: Nah-nee oh shee-teh ee-mah-soo kah?
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Не істеп жатырсың? (Ne istep jatyrсың?) | Pronunciation: Neh ees-tep jah-tyrsyn?
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – អ្នកកំពុងធ្វើអ្វី? (Anak kompong thveu avei?) | Pronunciation: Ah-nahk kom-pong tveu ah-vey?
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 뭐하고 있어요? (Mwohago isseoyo?) | Pronunciation: Mwo-hah-go ees-suh-yo?
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Tu çi dikî? | Pronunciation: Too chee dee-kee?
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Эмне кылып жатасың? (Emne kylıp jatasıñ?) | Pronunciation: Em-neh kuh-lip jah-tah-syn?
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ເຈົ້າກຳລັງຫາຢູ່ຫຍັງ? (Jao kamlang ha yu nyang?) | Pronunciation: Jao kam-lang ha yoo nyang?
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Ko tu dari? | Pronunciation: Ko too dah-ree?
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Ką tu darai? | Pronunciation: Kah too dah-ry?
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Wat maachs du? | Pronunciation: Vat makhs doo?
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Што правиш? (Shto pravish?) | Pronunciation: Shto pra-veesh?
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Apa yang anda lakukan? | Pronunciation: Ah-pa yahng ahn-dah lah-koo-kahn?
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – X’inti tagħmel? | Pronunciation: Sheen-tee tah-għmel?
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 你在做什么？ (Nǐ zài zuò shénme?) | Pronunciation: Nee zai dzwo shen meh?
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – तू काय करत आहेस? (Tū kāy karat āhes?) | Pronunciation: Too kai kar-tah a-hes?
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Чи юу хийж байна? (Chi yuu khiij baina?) | Pronunciation: Chee yuu khee-j bai-na?
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – तिमी के गर्दैछौ? (Timī ke gardaichau?) | Pronunciation: Tee-mee ke gar-dai-chow?
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Hva gjør du? | Pronunciation: Vah yure doo?
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – ته څه کوۍ؟ (Ta ča kawē?) | Pronunciation: Tah cha kaw-ay?
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – چه کاری انجام میدهی؟ (Che kārī anjām midahī?) | Pronunciation: Che ka-ree an-jam mee-da-hee?
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Co robisz? | Pronunciation: Tso ro-beesh?
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – O que você está fazendo? | Pronunciation: O keh vo-se es-tah fa-zen-do?
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Ce faci? | Pronunciation: Che fah-ch?
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Что ты делаешь? (Chto ty delayesh’?) | Pronunciation: Shto tee de-lah-yesh?
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Шта радиш? (Šta radiš?) | Pronunciation: Shta ra-deesh?
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – ඔයා මොනවා කරනවාද? (Oyā monavā karanavāda?) | Pronunciation: O-ya mo-na-va ka-ra-na-va-da?
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Čo robíš? | Pronunciation: Tso ro-beesh?
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Kaj delaš? | Pronunciation: Kai de-lash?
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Maxaad samaynaysaa? | Pronunciation: Mah-haad sa-may-nah-saa?
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – ¿Qué estás haciendo? | Pronunciation: Kay es-tas ah-see-en-do?
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Unafanya nini? | Pronunciation: Oo-na-fan-ya nee-nee?
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Vad gör du? | Pronunciation: Vahd yure doo?
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Шумо чӣ кор мекунед? (Shumo chī kor mekuned?) | Pronunciation: Shoo-mo chee kor meh-koo-ned?
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – நீங்கள் என்ன செய்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ enna seykiṟīrkaḷ?) | Pronunciation: Neeng-gal en-na sey-gi-reer-gal?
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – నువ్వు ఏం చేస్తున్నావు? (Nuvvu ēṁ cēstunnāvu?) | Pronunciation: Noov-voo em ches-tun-naa-voo?
- Thai (🇹🇭) – คุณกำลังทำอะไรอยู่? (Khun kamlang tham arai yu?) | Pronunciation: Koon gam-lang tam ah-rai yoo?
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Ne yapıyorsun? | Pronunciation: Neh ya-puh-yor-sun?
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Що ти робиш? (Shcho ty robysh?) | Pronunciation: Shto tee ro-beesh?
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – آپ کیا کر رہے ہیں؟ (Aap kya kar rahe hain?) | Pronunciation: Aap kyah kar rahay hain?
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Nima qilyapsan? | Pronunciation: Nee-ma kee-lyap-san?
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Bạn đang làm gì? | Pronunciation: Ban dang lam gee?