A2 Expression Informell

¿Qué te cuentas?

What's up?

Bedeutung

An informal greeting asking what's new or what someone is doing.

🌍

Kultureller Hintergrund

In Spain, '¿Qué te cuentas?' is often followed by 'tío' or 'tía' (literally uncle/aunt, but used as 'dude/girl'). It's the bread and butter of social life in Madrid and Barcelona. While understood, Mexicans are much more likely to use '¿Qué onda?' or '¿Qué hubo?'. Using '¿Qué te cuentas?' might make you sound slightly more Peninsular (from Spain). In Argentina, the voseo changes the conjugation to '¿Qué te contás?'. It's very common in Buenos Aires. Colombians love '¿Qué más?'. It's used as a direct synonym for '¿Qué te cuentas?' and is heard dozens of times a day.

💡

The 'Nothing' Response

If you have no news, the standard reply is 'Pues nada, aquí estamos' (Well, nothing, here we are).

⚠️

Watch the 'S'

Don't forget the 's' at the end of 'cuentas' when talking to a friend, or it becomes formal/third person.

Bedeutung

An informal greeting asking what's new or what someone is doing.

💡

The 'Nothing' Response

If you have no news, the standard reply is 'Pues nada, aquí estamos' (Well, nothing, here we are).

⚠️

Watch the 'S'

Don't forget the 's' at the end of 'cuentas' when talking to a friend, or it becomes formal/third person.

🎯

Spain vs LatAm

In Spain, use '¿Qué os contáis?' for a group. In LatAm, use '¿Qué se cuentan?'.

💬

Be ready to talk

Asking this isn't just a 'hello'; be prepared to actually listen to a story!

Teste dich selbst

Complete the informal greeting with the correct pronoun.

¡Hola, Juan! ¿Qué ___ cuentas?

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: te

The standard idiomatic phrase uses 'te' (to you/yourself).

In which situation is it appropriate to use '¿Qué te cuentas?'

Choose the best context:

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: Meeting your best friend for a beer.

This is an informal greeting for friends and family.

Choose the most natural response to '¿Qué te cuentas?'

Persona A: ¡Hola! ¿Qué te cuentas? Persona B: _________

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: Pues nada, aquí andamos, trabajando mucho.

This is a standard informal way to respond, sharing a bit of news.

Match the Spanish greeting with its English equivalent.

Match the pairs:

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: all

These are all correct matches for different levels of formality.

🎉 Ergebnis: /4

Visuelle Lernhilfen

Formal vs Informal Greetings

Formal
¿Cómo está usted? How are you?
¿Qué novedades hay? What news is there?
Informal
¿Qué te cuentas? What's up?
¿Qué tal? How's it?

Aufgabensammlung

4 Aufgaben
Complete the informal greeting with the correct pronoun. Fill Blank A2

¡Hola, Juan! ¿Qué ___ cuentas?

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: te

The standard idiomatic phrase uses 'te' (to you/yourself).

In which situation is it appropriate to use '¿Qué te cuentas?' Choose A2

Choose the best context:

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: Meeting your best friend for a beer.

This is an informal greeting for friends and family.

Choose the most natural response to '¿Qué te cuentas?' dialogue_completion A2

Persona A: ¡Hola! ¿Qué te cuentas? Persona B: _________

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: Pues nada, aquí andamos, trabajando mucho.

This is a standard informal way to respond, sharing a bit of news.

Match the Spanish greeting with its English equivalent. Match B1

Ordne jedem Element links seinen Partner rechts zu:

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: all

These are all correct matches for different levels of formality.

🎉 Ergebnis: /4

Häufig gestellte Fragen

10 Fragen

Both are correct! 'Te cuentas' is 'What do you tell yourself/the world?', while 'Me cuentas' is 'What do you tell me?'. They are used interchangeably as greetings.

Generally, no. It's too informal. Use '¿Cómo está?' or '¿Qué tal le va?' instead.

It means 'to recount' or 'to tell a story', not 'to count numbers'.

Say 'Nada nuevo' or 'Lo de siempre' (the usual).

Yes, but '¿Qué onda?' is much more common there.

Yes, it's a pronominal use of the verb 'contar' that makes the action more personal.

Only if you are in a very casual environment, like a backpacker hostel or a youth party.

Yes! '¿Qué os contáis?' (Spain) or '¿Qué se cuentan?' (Latin America).

Not at all. It's very modern and widely used by all ages.

Only in a very casual email to a close friend.

Verwandte Redewendungen

🔄

¿Qué me cuentas?

synonym

What are you telling me?

🔗

¿Qué tal?

similar

How's it going?

🔗

Cuéntame algo

builds on

Tell me something.

🔗

No me cuentes cuentos

contrast

Don't tell me stories/lies.

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