Breakdown of Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ?
tu
you (informal singular)
est-ce que
is it that / do / does (question marker)
chercher
to look for
que
what (unstressed)
Questions & Answers about Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ?
Why is "what" translated into such a long phrase like "qu'est-ce que"?
The phrase qu'est-ce que literally means "What is it that", but in everyday French, it is simply the standard way to ask "What". Using this chunk allows you to keep the rest of your sentence in its normal order (tu cherches), instead of having to swap the verb and subject.
Wait, how does "qu'est-ce que" break down word by word?
The lesson mentions "quoi" for "what". Can I use "quoi" in this sentence?
Yes, if you put the question word at the end! To use the "in situ" (in place) style from this lesson, you would say Tu cherches quoi ? which literally means "You are looking for what?". You use que or qu'est-ce que at the beginning of a sentence, and quoi at the end.