How to Say ‘What's the matter?’ in French
Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
k eh suh keel eel ee ah
[k eh suh keel eel ee ah]
💬 Usage Tip: [Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?] is a fixed everyday way to ask what is wrong or what is going on. The [qu'] and [il] are just part of the set phrase here, so learn it as one chunk.
Phrase Breakdown
Qu'
[k]
what
An elided form of que before a vowel, used here to ask what.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
est
[eh]
is
Part of the expression qu'est-ce que, used to ask what.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
-ce
[suh]
question marker
Part of est-ce, a structure used to form questions in French.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
qu'
[keel]
that / what
Elided que before il; part of the fixed question expression here.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
il
[eel]
he / it
A subject pronoun; in il y a it does not literally mean he, but forms there is/there are.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
y
[ee]
there
Used in the expression il y a, meaning there is or there are.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
a
[ah]
has / is
From avoir; in il y a, it means there is or there are.
Le professeur demande : Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
The teacher asks: What's the matter?
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