What Are You Doing in Different Languages? 70 Easy Translations

Want to know what are you doing in different languages? This simple guide gives you 70 useful translations of this everyday question, along with easy English pronunciations and real-life examples.

“What are you doing?” is one of the most common conversational phrases in the world. You can use it when talking to a friend, family member, classmate, coworker, or someone you have just met. Depending on the language and relationship, the wording may change between informal and formal speech.

Below, you will find what are you doing in all languages covered in one easy-to-read table. Each translation includes the native phrase, a simple pronunciation guide, an example sentence, and the English meaning of that example.

What Does “What Are You Doing?” Mean?

“What are you doing?” is a question used to ask what someone is currently doing or what activity they are engaged in.

For example:

• “What are you doing right now?”
• “What are you doing after work?”
• “Hey, what are you doing?”

The exact meaning can depend on context. It may simply ask about someone’s current activity, or it can be used casually to start a conversation.

What Are You Doing in Different Languages: 70 Translations

The following table shows how to say what are you doing in different languages. Pronunciations are simplified for English speakers and are intended as practical guides rather than exact phonetic transcriptions.

#	Language	Native Phrase	Easy English Pronunciation	Real-Life Example	English Meaning
1	English	What are you doing?	wot ar yoo doo-ing	What are you doing right now?	What activity are you doing right now?
2	Spanish	¿Qué estás haciendo?	keh es-TAS ah-SYEN-doh	¿Qué estás haciendo ahora?	What are you doing now?
3	French	Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?	kes kuh too feh	Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce soir ?	What are you doing tonight?
4	German	Was machst du?	vahs makhst doo	Was machst du gerade?	What are you doing right now?
5	Italian	Cosa stai facendo?	KOH-zah stai fah-CHEN-doh	Cosa stai facendo adesso?	What are you doing now?
6	Portuguese	O que você está fazendo?	oo kee vo-SEH es-TAH fah-ZEN-doh	O que você está fazendo agora?	What are you doing now?
7	Dutch	Wat ben je aan het doen?	vat ben yuh an hut doon	Wat ben je aan het doen?	What are you doing?
8	Swedish	Vad gör du?	vahd yer doo	Vad gör du nu?	What are you doing now?
9	Norwegian	Hva gjør du?	vah yeur doo	Hva gjør du i kveld?	What are you doing tonight?
10	Danish	Hvad laver du?	vah lair-er doo	Hvad laver du nu?	What are you doing now?
11	Finnish	Mitä sinä teet?	MEE-tah SEE-nah tayt	Mitä sinä teet nyt?	What are you doing now?
12	Icelandic	Hvað ertu að gera?	kvath ER-too ath YEH-ra	Hvað ertu að gera núna?	What are you doing now?
13	Irish	Cad atá tú a dhéanamh?	kad ah-taw too uh YEN-yiv	Cad atá tú a dhéanamh anois?	What are you doing now?
14	Welsh	Beth wyt ti’n wneud?	beth weet teen wayd	Beth wyt ti’n wneud nawr?	What are you doing now?
15	Polish	Co robisz?	tsoh ROH-bish	Co robisz teraz?	What are you doing now?
16	Czech	Co děláš?	tsoh DYEH-lash	Co děláš teď?	What are you doing now?
17	Slovak	Čo robíš?	choh ROH-beesh	Čo robíš teraz?	What are you doing now?
18	Slovenian	Kaj delaš?	kai DEH-lash	Kaj delaš zdaj?	What are you doing now?
19	Croatian	Što radiš?	shtoh RAH-deesh	Što radiš sada?	What are you doing now?
20	Serbian	Šta radiš?	shtah RAH-deesh	Šta radiš sada?	What are you doing now?
21	Bosnian	Šta radiš?	shtah RAH-deesh	Šta radiš danas?	What are you doing today?
22	Bulgarian	Какво правиш?	kak-VOH PRA-vish	Какво правиш сега?	What are you doing now?
23	Macedonian	Што правиш?	shtoh PRA-vish	Што правиш сега?	What are you doing now?
24	Russian	Что ты делаешь?	shtoh tyh DEH-lah-yesh	Что ты делаешь сейчас?	What are you doing now?
25	Ukrainian	Що ти робиш?	shcho ty ROH-bish	Що ти робиш зараз?	What are you doing now?
26	Belarusian	Што ты робіш?	shtoh tyh ROH-bish	Што ты робіш зараз?	What are you doing now?
27	Lithuanian	Ką tu darai?	kah too DAH-rye	Ką tu darai dabar?	What are you doing now?
28	Latvian	Ko tu dari?	koh too DAH-ree	Ko tu dari tagad?	What are you doing now?
29	Estonian	Mida sa teed?	MEE-dah sah tayd	Mida sa praegu teed?	What are you doing right now?
30	Hungarian	Mit csinálsz?	meet CHEE-nals	Mit csinálsz most?	What are you doing now?
31	Romanian	Ce faci?	cheh fach	Ce faci acum?	What are you doing now?
32	Albanian	Çfarë po bën?	CHFAH-reh poh ben	Çfarë po bën tani?	What are you doing now?
33	Greek	Τι κάνεις;	tee KAH-nees	Τι κάνεις τώρα;	What are you doing now?
34	Turkish	Ne yapıyorsun?	neh yah-puh-YOR-soon	Şimdi ne yapıyorsun?	What are you doing now?
35	Azerbaijani	Nə edirsən?	nah eh-DEER-sen	İndi nə edirsən?	What are you doing now?
36	Armenian	Ի՞նչ ես անում։	inch es ah-NOOM	Հիմա ի՞նչ ես անում։	What are you doing now?
37	Georgian	რას აკეთებ?	ras ah-KEH-teb	ახლა რას აკეთებ?	What are you doing now?
38	Persian	داری چیکار می‌کنی؟	da-ree chee-KAR mee-KOH-nee	الان داری چیکار می‌کنی؟	What are you doing now?
39	Arabic	ماذا تفعل؟	maa-dhaa taf-al	ماذا تفعل الآن؟	What are you doing now?
40	Hebrew	מה אתה עושה?	mah ah-TAH oh-SEH	מה אתה עושה עכשיו?	What are you doing now?
41	Hindi	तुम क्या कर रहे हो?	tum kya kar ra-HAY ho	तुम अभी क्या कर रहे हो?	What are you doing right now?
42	Urdu	آپ کیا کر رہے ہیں؟	aap kya kar ra-HAY hain	آپ ابھی کیا کر رہے ہیں؟	What are you doing right now?
43	Bengali	তুমি কী করছ?	too-mee kee KOR-chho	তুমি এখন কী করছ?	What are you doing now?
44	Punjabi	ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕੀ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹੋ?	tus-see kee kar ra-HAY ho	ਤੁਸੀਂ ਹੁਣ ਕੀ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਹੋ?	What are you doing now?
45	Gujarati	તમે શું કરી રહ્યા છો?	ta-meh shoon ka-REE ra-HYA cho	તમે અત્યારે શું કરી રહ્યા છો?	What are you doing right now?
46	Marathi	तू काय करत आहेस?	too kai karat ah-HES	तू आत्ता काय करत आहेस?	What are you doing right now?
47	Nepali	तिमी के गर्दैछौ?	tee-mee keh gar-DYE-chow	तिमी अहिले के गर्दैछौ?	What are you doing now?
48	Sinhala	ඔයා මොකද කරන්නේ?	oh-YAH moh-kah-dah ka-RAN-neh	ඔයා දැන් මොකද කරන්නේ?	What are you doing now?
49	Tamil	நீ என்ன செய்கிறாய்?	nee en-na say-gi-RYE	நீ இப்போது என்ன செய்கிறாய்?	What are you doing now?
50	Telugu	నువ్వు ఏమి చేస్తున్నావు?	noov-voo AY-mee chest-TOON-naa-voo	నువ్వు ఇప్పుడు ఏమి చేస్తున్నావు?	What are you doing now?
51	Kannada	ನೀನು ಏನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀಯ?	nee-noo AY-noo maa-DUT-ti-dee-ya	ನೀನು ಈಗ ಏನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀಯ?	What are you doing now?
52	Malayalam	നീ എന്ത് ചെയ്യുന്നു?	nee enth CHEY-yun-noo	നീ ഇപ്പോൾ എന്ത് ചെയ്യുന്നു?	What are you doing now?
53	Chinese (Mandarin)	你在做什么？	nee dzai dzwuh shen-muh	你现在在做什么？	What are you doing now?
54	Japanese	何をしていますか？	nah-nee oh shee-TEH-mas kah	今何をしていますか？	What are you doing now?
55	Korean	뭐 하고 있어요?	mwo ha-go ee-SSUH-yo	지금 뭐 하고 있어요?	What are you doing now?
56	Vietnamese	Bạn đang làm gì?	ban dang lam zee	Bạn đang làm gì vậy?	What are you doing?
57	Thai	คุณกำลังทำอะไรอยู่?	koon gam-lang tam ah-ry yoo	ตอนนี้คุณกำลังทำอะไรอยู่?	What are you doing now?
58	Indonesian	Kamu sedang apa?	KAH-moo suh-dang AH-pah	Kamu sedang apa sekarang?	What are you doing now?
59	Malay	Awak sedang buat apa?	AH-wak suh-dang boo-at AH-pah	Awak sedang buat apa sekarang?	What are you doing now?
60	Filipino	Ano ang ginagawa mo?	AH-noh ang gee-na-GAH-wah moh	Ano ang ginagawa mo ngayon?	What are you doing now?
61	Mongolian	Чи юу хийж байна?	chee yoo khEEzh bai-na	Чи одоо юу хийж байна?	What are you doing now?
62	Swahili	Unafanya nini?	oo-na-FAHN-yah NEE-nee	Unafanya nini sasa?	What are you doing now?
63	Afrikaans	Wat doen jy?	vat doon yay	Wat doen jy nou?	What are you doing now?
64	Zulu	Wenzani?	wen-ZAH-nee	Wenzani manje?	What are you doing now?
65	Xhosa	Wenza ntoni?	wen-zah n-TOH-nee	Wenza ntoni ngoku?	What are you doing now?
66	Amharic	ምን እያደረግህ ነው?	min ee-ya-deh-regk neh	አሁን ምን እያደረግህ ነው?	What are you doing now?
67	Somali	Maxaad samaynaysaa?	ma-KHAAD sa-may-NAY-sah	Hadda maxaad samaynaysaa?	What are you doing now?
68	Hausa	Me kake yi?	meh kah-keh yee	Yanzu me kake yi?	What are you doing now?
69	Yoruba	Kí ni o ń ṣe?	kee nee ohn sheh	Kí ni o ń ṣe báyìí?	What are you doing now?
70	Igbo	Gịnị ka ị na-eme?	ghee-nee kah ee nah EH-meh	Gịnị ka ị na-eme ugbu a?	What are you doing now?

How to Use “What Are You Doing?” Naturally

Learning a direct translation is useful, but understanding the situation in which a phrase is used makes your language skills much stronger.

In casual conversations, the question is often used between friends. For example, you might ask someone what they are doing before suggesting an activity.

Example:

“What are you doing tonight? Do you want to watch a movie?”

The same idea can also be used to ask about someone’s current activity:

“What are you doing right now?”

In some languages, the wording changes depending on whether you are speaking to a friend, an older person, a stranger, or someone in a formal setting.

Formal and Informal Translations

One important point about what are you doing translations is that many languages have different levels of politeness.

English usually uses the same basic phrase whether you are speaking to a close friend or a stranger. Other languages may require a different pronoun, verb form, or expression.

For example, languages such as Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Hindi can distinguish between informal and formal speech.

When speaking naturally, always consider:

• Who you are talking to
• Your relationship with that person
• The situation
• Whether the language has formal and informal pronouns
• Regional differences

For everyday conversations with friends, the informal version is often the most natural choice.

What Are You Doing Around the World?

The phrase what are you doing around the world shows how everyday communication can differ while expressing the same basic idea.

European languages often use a verb meaning “do” or “make.” Many Asian languages use structures that emphasize an action currently taking place. African languages can also express the same idea through different verb constructions.

Although the grammar varies, the conversational purpose remains familiar: you want to know what another person is doing.

This makes the phrase especially useful for travelers, language learners, students, and anyone communicating with people from different cultures.

Common Situations for Saying “What Are You Doing?”

Asking About Someone’s Current Activity

This is the most direct use.

Example:
“What are you doing right now?”

You are asking about the activity happening at the moment.

Starting a Conversation

The phrase can also work as a casual conversation starter.

Example:
“Hey, what are you doing?”

Depending on tone, this can simply mean that you want to talk.

Making Plans

You can use the question when deciding whether someone is available.

Example:
“What are you doing this weekend?”

Here, the question is about plans rather than something happening at the exact moment.

Checking on a Friend

If someone has been quiet or unavailable, you might ask:

“What are you doing?”

This can naturally lead to a longer conversation.

Tips for Learning These Translations

If you are learning how to say what are you doing in different languages, do not try to memorize all 70 phrases at once.

Start with a few languages that are personally useful. Learn the phrase, pronunciation, and one practical sentence together. This makes it easier to remember how the expression actually works.

It is also helpful to listen to native speakers because pronunciation can differ from simple English pronunciation guides.

Finally, remember that a literal translation is not always the phrase a native speaker would choose in every situation. Context, formality, age, relationship, and regional usage can all affect the most natural wording.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you say “what are you doing” in different languages?

The phrase has different translations depending on the language. For example, Spanish uses “¿Qué estás haciendo?”, French uses “Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?”, German uses “Was machst du?”, and Italian uses “Cosa stai facendo?”

2. What is “what are you doing” in Spanish?

In Spanish, “What are you doing?” is commonly translated as “¿Qué estás haciendo?”. A natural example is “¿Qué estás haciendo ahora?”, meaning “What are you doing now?”

3. How do you say “what are you doing” in French?

In French, a common informal translation is “Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?”. It is used when asking someone what they are doing.

4. What is the difference between “what are you doing?” and “what are you up to?”

“What are you doing?” usually asks about a person’s current activity. “What are you up to?” is a more casual English expression that can ask about someone’s current activity or plans.

5. Can these translations be used in formal conversations?

Not always. Some languages distinguish strongly between formal and informal speech. Before using a translation with a stranger, older person, teacher, customer, or professional contact, check whether the language has a formal version.

Conclusion

Learning what are you doing in different languages is a simple and practical way to build everyday vocabulary. The phrase appears frequently in conversations, messages, travel situations, and casual interactions.

With the 70 translations above, you can explore what are you doing in all languages from Europe, Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world. Focus on the languages you use most, practice the pronunciation, and learn each phrase in a real conversational sentence.

The key is not simply memorizing translations. Understanding when and how native speakers use the phrase will help you communicate more naturally.