Learn Spanish (Spain): ¿Qué te pasa? ¿Estás enfermo?

¿Qué te pasa? ¿Estás enfermo?

What's wrong? Are you ill?

Breakdown of ¿Qué te pasa? ¿Estás enfermo?

estar

to be (location/state)

enfermo

sick

¿qué te pasa?

what's wrong (with you)?

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Questions & Answers about ¿Qué te pasa? ¿Estás enfermo?

Why does "pasar" mean "wrong" here? I thought it meant "to pass".

Pasar literally means "to happen" or "to pass." So, ¿Qué te pasa? translates literally to "What is happening to you?" In Spanish, this is the most common way to ask "What's the matter?" or "What's wrong with you?"

Why use "te" instead of "tú" in the first question?

The pronoun te means "to you" in this sentence. The verb pasa (it happens) is doing the action, and te shows who is receiving that action. You can't use tú (you, the subject) because the person you are talking to isn't the one doing the "happening".

Why is it "estás" and not "eres" for being sick?

We use estás (from the verb estar) instead of eres (from ser) because being sick is a temporary condition or physical state. You use estar for temporary states, moods, and locations.

Would "enfermo" change if I were asking a woman?

Yes! Enfermo is an adjective describing the person you are talking to. If you are asking a woman if she is ill, you must change the ending to match her gender and ask ¿Estás enferma?