¿qué más?
keh MAHSphraseInformal
A Colombian Spanish slang term. Browse all Colombian slang.
What it means
How are you? — a greeting, not a question about anything additional. This is the single most reliable way to spot a foreigner: answered literally, it produces bafflement on both sides.
Often expanded to ¿qué más pues? in Antioquia, where the pues is obligatory rather than decorative.
Literally: What else?
Examples with translations
¿Qué más, Juli? ¿Cómo te ha ido?
Hey Juli, how have you been?
¿Qué más pues, mija?
How's it going, love?
Note: Paisa form. The pues carries no meaning at all here.
Where it comes from
An elliptical greeting formula of the kind Spanish produces readily — compare ¿qué tal?. The literal reading survives in other varieties, which is precisely why it confuses visiting Spaniards and Mexicans.
Other forms
- Similar terms:
- quiubo, bien o qué