How to Say ‘What's wrong?’ in French
Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas ?
k ay suh kee nuh vah pah
[k ay suh kee nuh vah pah]
💬 Usage Tip: A standard doctor question. Literally: 'What is it that is not going well?'
🇫🇷 In France: This sounds caring and normal, not dramatic. Doctors may also ask Qu'est-ce que vous avez ?
Phrase Breakdown
Qu'est-ce qui
k ay suh kee
What is it that / What
This introduces a question; together with the rest of the sentence, it asks what is wrong.
Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?
What is happening?
Words in this phrase
Qu'
[k]
what
Shortened form of que in a question, meaning what.
Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas chez vous ?
What is wrong with you?
est
[ay]
is
Form of être used in this question pattern.
Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?
What is happening?
-ce
[suh]
this/it
Part of the fixed question expression qu'est-ce qui.
Qu'est-ce qui vous fait mal ?
What is hurting you?
qui
[kee]
that / which
Relative pronoun used here in the question structure.
Qu'est-ce qui vous gêne ?
What is bothering you?
Ne va pas
nuh vah pah
Is not right / Is wrong
Used here to mean that something is not okay or is not going well.
Quelque chose ne va pas.
Something is wrong.
Words in this phrase
ne
[nuh]
not
The first part of negation in French.
Je ne mange pas beaucoup.
I do not eat much.
va
[vah]
goes / is going
From aller; in this expression it means goes or is going.
Ça va mieux maintenant.
It is going better now.
pas
[pah]
not
The second part of negation, paired with ne.
Je ne tousse pas la nuit.
I do not cough at night.
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