Difference between Mande and Que
¡Hola a todos!
From the article that I recently read. it says there that the polite manner of asking someone to repeat oneself is "¿Mande?" and not "¿Que?" when one did not hear something.
But when I used Mande in school because I did not understand what my Spanish teacher was saying.I have got a strange look from her and I felt like I was in trouble for a sec when she asked me, "how did I learn that word?".
I felt a bit nervous at first but I was just trying to be nice since I missed some of the things she said. She started telling the class it is only used in northern part of Spain.
Of course, I believed her because it is their language aside from she is my teacher but I don't understand why I have had that bizarre reaction from her.
Can someone tell me the gravity of that word? Is it ever acceptable in some areas or is there a better way to say this? Can I just say, ¿Perdon?.
Espero que pueda dar la luz a esto! Gracias de antemano! 
17 Answers
"¿Mande?" is a polite way to say "Can you repeat that please?" either because you didn't hear it correctly, you are unsure, or you just didn't hear it at all.
"¿Qué?" is the non-polite way to say ^
I was born in Mexico and lived there for 21 years.
Yo así crecí con las nociones de que "¿Mande?" es la manera educada de preguntarle a la persona que repita la pregunta o lo que dijo. Y "¿Que?" es la manera que no era aceptada en mi casa! Mi mamá siempre nos decía "Se dice 'mande' no 'que' ".
Con respecto a España:
Casí no se escucha ¿Mande?, a no ser que signifique "Send?". ¿Qué? y ¿Cómo" son lo normal. You can say ¿Perdón? but the most common is just ¿Cómo?, or if you're feeling lazy just make a confused sound such as ¿Ehh? hahaha.
And I have heard ¿mande? used outside of México, by non Mexicans. It's rare, but it is used (at least on occassion) by other Spanish speakers.
The polite manner of asking someone to repeat "themselves" is
¿Cómo?
Dear Michael, "Mande" is a Mexican word. It is used when you don't understand a request, or when someone asks you something.
Examples:
1)
A: ¿Puedes traerme una bebida? [May I have a drink?]
M: ¿Mande? (He didn't understand the question) [Could you repeat please?]
2) A: ¿Puedo hacerle una pregunta? [May I ask you a question?] B: ¿Mande? [Sure/Right/Tell me] A: Por casualidad ¿Sabe dónde está el metro? [Dou you happen to know where is the subway?] B: Por supuesto. Sólo siga derecho dos cuadras.[Of course. Just go straight two blocks]
It is only used in Mexico. There, I've heard it quite often. It is certainly not standard Spanish, but you should know the word if you want to understand the Mexican context.
Here in Baja "mande" is universal. To use any other word is impolite. Young kids get reprimanded for using "¿Qué? or ¿Cómo?
Actually, from a historical perspective, it might be argued that ¿Mande? is the more polite and formal rather than a brutal "How's that again?"
Mande originates from Mándeme (command me). It was first used by indian servants / slaves of the Spanish during the early settling of Mexico. Even though it is very common today, many people, particularly of higher social education, choose not to use this expression because of separation of the classes. We don´t talk about it much, but there is still a class system in Mexico. Personally, I prefer use ¿Cómo? when I haven´t heard someone well.
¿Qué? can be used among friends, but intonation is very important for avoiding disrespect or the wrong idea.
Hola Michael_88,
If you say ¡Mande! is a not polite way where I live at, if you didn't listen or didn't understand you should say: "¡Por favor me repites, no te escuche/entendi bien!" or "¿puedes/podrías repetir lo qué dijiste?" and if you use ¡qué! is not rude, but since we are kids we must answer saying "señor(a)" to answer and speak with someone that has more authority over us, I know it's longer but is more proper.
I hope this help you.
in my humble opinion, it is very self derogatory. Some people may differ from my opinion, and I will respect that. I would never say Mande under any circumstances. I view it as sinking to the lowest level a human being would be capable of.
Francobllo, why do you say that?
Interesante:
mandarin (n.)
"Chinese official," 1580s, via Portuguese mandarim or older Dutch mandorijn from Malay mantri, from Hindi mantri "councilor, minister of state," from Sanskrit mantri, nominative of mantrin- "advisor," from mantra "counsel," from PIE root *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)). Form influenced in Portuguese by mandar "to command, order." Used generically for the several grades of Chinese officials; sense of "chief dialect of Chinese" (spoken by officials and educated people) is from c.1600. Transferred sense of "important person" attested by 1907. The type of small, deep-colored orange so called from 1771, from resemblance of its color to that of robes worn by mandarin
Northern part of Spain? I would definitely question your teacher's credentials. As far as I know, ¿Mande? is only used by Mexicans or Spanish speakers here in the U.S who interact with Mexican Spanish speakers a lot. I hear it all the time, but I usually only use ¿Cómo? because it's the most neutral and, as far as I know, any Spanish speaker would understand. In some countries, like Peru, ¿Qué? is seen as very rude. I was in Peru not too long ago and when my Mexican girlfriend would use ¿Mande? people would look at her like she was crazy. It's always a good idea to study different dialects in order to understand the "correct" way to converse with Spanish speakers from different countries.
Sí hay muchos paisanos que usan mande, pero en mi humilde opinion no lo uso porque en México hay clasismo.
Mexican born and bred here! I find it curious that some of the posters find saying 'Mande' humiliating. If you were not born in a Mexican household I could understand why you would think that (and I respect that) but for us is nothing like that really. Since we're babies we are taught "No se dice qué, se dice mande". It's just manners. At home and amongst my friends I also use 'Eu!' which is very relaxed, informal, friendly
mister
as a title of courtesy before a man's Christian name, mid-15c., unaccented variant of master. As a form of address, without a name and with a tinge of rudeness, from 1760.
OEtD
