vs
QUICK ANSWER
"Hey" is a form of "hey", an interjection which is often translated as "oye". "What's going on?" is a phrase which is often translated as "¿Qué pasa?". Learn more about the difference between "hey" and "What's going on?" below.
hey(
hey
)An interjection is a short utterance that expresses emotion, hesitation, or protest (e.g., Wow!).
1. (colloquial) (used to attract attention)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
a. oye (informal) (singular)
A word or phrase used to refer to the second person informal “tú” by their conjugation or implied context (e.g., How are you?).
A word or phrase that is singular (e.g., el gato).
Hey! What's wrong with you?¡Oye! ¿Qué te pasa?
b. oiga (formal) (singular)
A word or phrase used to refer to the second person formal “usted” by their conjugation or implied context (e.g., usted).
A word or phrase that is singular (e.g., el gato).
Hey! You can't park there.¡Oiga! Ahí no se puede estacionar.
e. ole (Colombia)
Regionalism used in Colombia
Hey, don't talk to me like that!¡Ole! ¡No me hables así!
f. hala (Colombia)
Regionalism used in Colombia
Hey, don't feed the dog!¡Hala! ¡No le des comida al perro!
g. momentito (Argentina)
Regionalism used in Argentina
Hey, don't cut in line!¡Momentito! ¡No te cueles!
2. (greeting)
What's going on?(
wuhts
go
-
ihng
an
)A phrase is a group of words commonly used together (e.g., once upon a time).
1. (colloquial) (greeting)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
b. ¿Qué tal? (colloquial)
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
I haven't seen you in a while. What's going on?No te he visto desde hace un momento. ¿Qué tal?
b. ¿Qué está sucediendo?
What's going on with you and Derek? He told me you haven't spoken since Saturday.¿Qué está sucediendo entre Derek y ti? Él me dijo qué ustedes no han hablado desde el sábado.
c. ¿Qué está ocurriendo?
What's going on in your city? The news makes it seem so scary.¿Qué está ocurriendo en tu ciudad? Las noticias lo hacen parecer tan aterrador.
