Are there different meanings for the expression ¿Qué fue?

Question

I did a search for the expression ¿Qué fue? and found this.

I hear this expression repeatedly throughout the day here and finally asked for an explanation as it didn't seem to fit with the best one that was given by Heidi of "What's up?".

I was told that it is an expression used when someone is speaking and you're not sure what they said or meant, or if you can't hear what someone is saying. For example, during a car ride, a friend and I were sitting in the front and his girlfriend was seated behind us. He was asking her questions during the ride and each time he couldn't hear what she was saying, he would reply ¿Qué fue?

So my question is: Does this expression vary from country to country? To Heidi in Spain it means "What's up?". In the Dominican Republic it sort of means "Huh?"or "What did you say?"

Answer 1

its like "what was that" in literal translation so could easily be understood as "what did you say"

Yes, that is what I am understanding it to mean. I am still curious if this varies in meaning from country to country, but thanks for the response. :) - Nicole-B, Aug 9, 2011

ah my spanish is mostly mexican, and to be honest i cant remember if i have heard it used that way in other parts of south america or not. - toothpastechica, Aug 9, 2011

Where I am in South America, it's more commonly used as que paso - bafalck, Aug 9, 2011

Answer 2

There seems to be a fad in Ecuador of sticking fue onto the end of sentences with little regard to the meaning, so ¿Qué? = ¿Mande? = ¿Qué fue?

Answer 3

In the context of the car it did mean "what did you say". It can also be used as "what's up", "what's wrong", and "what happened".

Answer 4

Buenas tardes, Nicole.

Yes, I have heard "¿Qué fue?" used as "What was that?" also. I can't remember where.

In Mexico I heard a lot of "¿Mande?" as in "Can you repeat that?"

Here in Guatemala "¿Qué fue?" is more of "What happened?" or " What was going on over there?"

Answer 5

This is a little sideways to your question, but in Mexico, and I think much of the Spanish speaking world, if you want someone to repeat what they just said you say

¿Mande?

I say and hear that a lot more than ¿Que fue? But I'm always looking for different ways to get people to repeat the parts I missed so I'll remember it.

Answer 6

Mariana said:

Here in Guatemala "¿Qué fue?" is more of "What happened?" or " What was going on over there?"

This is interesting that this one little expression can have several shades of meaning. The way Heidi used it sounds like more of a greeting similar to ¿Qué tal?. The way Mariana uses it in Guatemala seems to be more of a way of asking what is going on in a particular situation or over in a particular area away from the speakers (if I am understanding this correctly). The way I have been hearing it....it simply means "huh?!; "What did you say?", etc.

So now my next thought or question is:

If Mariana or Heidi were the driver of the car (in either Guatemala or Spain) and couldn't hear the speaker in the back of the car, would ¿Qué fue?" seem completely out of place?

If I see people arguing at the end of the street and say ¿Qué fue?"(as they use it in Guatemala) would I sound like I am making no sense?

I'm even trying to think of an English expression that has completely different meanings in different countries or regions, but I'm coming up blank. Any ideas?

He was pissed." - angry in the U.S. and drunk in the UK - samdie, Aug 22, 2011

Answer 7

I also recieve a standard 'Como te fue' when I'm talking with my Colombian friends. I take that to mean, 'what did you do?' or 'where did you go?' I'll also answer to 'como hiciste hoy?', to just catch up on the days events.

Since I'm a tad bit hard of hearing I regularly say "QUE?" and my friends know to repeat, or rephrase the question.

Answer 8

Jeremias said:

I say and hear that a lot more than ¿Que fue? But I'm always looking for different ways to get people to repeat the parts I missed so I'll remember it.

That is why I found this expression interesting. Instead of using the usual "¿Cómo? or "Qué?", I thought I found something new to use. I just don't want to say this in Mexico or another Spanish speaking country, only to have the person I'm speaking to thinking I'm nuts.

Hi guys, es 'Repita, por favor' acceptable? Works for me all the time, with Colombian Spanish. - royzito, Aug 16, 2011

Answer 9

I saw this question a while ago, and I was interested in the answer. After spending the weekend a bunch of people from Peru, I think I understand it's use a lot better (at least how Peruvian's use it). It seems to me that it means "what's up?" in the sense of "What's the situation" For example, my brother in-law got lost driving in the mountains and was trying to find his way back to camp. When he called to update us on the situation, his sister answered the phone ¿Qué fue? I have also heard it used to mean ¿Qué? or ¿Cómo? In Perú ¿Mande? is considered rude, and ¿Cómo? is used more than ¿Qué?