Ho fem així.

Ho is a direct object pronoun, often translated as it, but in Catalan it very often refers to something abstract: an action, an idea, a situation, or a whole previous statement.

So in Ho fem així, ho usually means something like it / this / that thing / the matter we’re talking about.

A key point: ho is typically used for something neutral or unspecified, not for a regular masculine or feminine noun.

• Ho sé = I know it / that
• No ho entenc = I don’t understand it / that
• Ho fem així = We do it like this / This is how we do it

In Catalan, object pronouns like ho, el, la, els, en, hi, etc. usually come before a conjugated verb.

So:

• Ho fem = We do it
• La veig = I see her / it
• No ho sé = I don’t know it / that

That is why the sentence is Ho fem així, not normally Fem ho així.

However, with infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands, pronouns usually attach after the verb:

• fer-ho = to do it
• fent-ho = doing it
• fes-ho = do it

Fem is the 1st person plural present indicative form of fer, which means to do or to make.

So fem means we do or we make.

The verb fer is very common and irregular, so this is a form worth memorizing:

• faig = I do
• fas = you do
• fa = he/she/it does
• fem = we do
• feu = you all do
• fan = they do

In Ho fem així, fem tells you the subject is we.

Catalan often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

Since fem already means we do, you do not need to say nosaltres.

So:

• Ho fem així = natural, normal
• Nosaltres ho fem així = also correct, but more emphatic

You would include nosaltres if you want contrast or emphasis, for example:

• Vosaltres ho feu d’una manera, però nosaltres ho fem així. = You do it one way, but we do it like this.

Així means like this, this way, or in this way.

It describes how something is done.

So:

• Ho fem així = We do it like this
• No es fa així = It isn’t done this way
• Així està bé = It’s fine like this

The accent on així matters because it shows the stress falls on the last syllable.

Usually, Ho fem així is straightforwardly We do it this way or We’re doing it this way, depending on context.

But in conversation, present tense can sometimes sound like a practical decision about what to do now, so in the right context it may feel close to We’ll do it this way.

If you specifically want Let’s do it this way, Catalan more naturally uses:

• Fem-ho així

This is an important contrast:

• Ho fem així = We do it this way / We’re doing it this way
• Fem-ho així = Let’s do it this way

The difference comes from pronoun placement and the function of the verb form.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

• Ho fem així is the more neutral order.
• Així ho fem puts more emphasis on així: This is how we do it or That’s how we do it.

Catalan allows some word order flexibility for emphasis, especially with adverbs and clitic pronouns.

So:

• Ho fem així = neutral
• Així ho fem = emphasizes the way it is done

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

o fem ə-zí

A few notes:

• ho is often pronounced just like o
• fem has an e somewhat like the vowel in English bet, depending on accent
• així is stressed on the last syllable: -xí
• the x here sounds like sh

A rough pronunciation guide:

• ho → o
• fem → fem
• així → ashí / əshí, depending on accent

In IPA, a common Central Catalan pronunciation is approximately u/ɔ? Wait no, better not overcomplicate? Let's keep it simple. More carefully:

• ho often sounds like u or o depending on speech and dialectal realization in connected language descriptions, but for learners o is a practical approximation.
• així is approximately əˈʃi in Central Catalan.

Most importantly, stress the last part: així.

Usually, ho does not replace an ordinary masculine or feminine noun directly.

For a specific noun, Catalan normally uses the matching object pronoun:

• el for masculine singular
• la for feminine singular
• els / les for plural

For example:

• Veus el llibre? Sí, el veig. = Do you see the book? Yes, I see it.
• Veus la casa? Sí, la veig. = Do you see the house? Yes, I see it.

But ho is used for something neutral, abstract, or previously mentioned as an idea:

• Això és difícil, però ho farem. = That is difficult, but we’ll do it.
• No ho sé. = I don’t know it / that

So in Ho fem així, ho is most likely referring to the thing / task / action / matter being discussed, not a concrete noun like the table or the book.

In this sentence, fer is best translated as do.

Catalan fer covers both English do and make in many contexts, so you have to choose the best English translation based on meaning.

Examples:

• Què fas? = What are you doing?
• Fa un pastís. = She is making a cake.
• Ho fem així. = We do it this way.

So although fer can mean either do or make, here do is the natural choice.

It is neutral and works in both formal and informal situations.

Nothing in Ho fem així is especially casual or especially formal. It is a normal, everyday sentence.

Its tone depends mostly on context and intonation:

• neutral explanation: Ho fem així.
• firm instruction or decision: Ho fem així.
• contrastive emphasis: No d’una altra manera; ho fem així.

So grammatically it is neutral; the situation gives it its tone.