How to Say ‘What do you do?’ in Spain Spanish
¿A qué te dedicas?
ah keh teh deh-DEE-kahs
[ah keh teh deh-DEE-kahs]
💬 Usage Tip: te dedicas is how Spanish asks what someone does, literally more like "what do you dedicate yourself to?" The same pattern works with other people: ¿A qué se dedica? for a more formal "What do you do?"
🇪🇸 In Spain: This is a standard, polite networking question in Spain and sounds a bit more natural than a direct job-title question. With someone you've just met in a professional setting, many people would prefer the formal version ¿A qué se dedica?.
Phrase Breakdown
A
[ah]
to / at
Part of the question phrase 'a qué te dedicas', used idiomatically to ask what someone does.
A menudo pregunto A qué te dedicas en eventos laborales.
I often ask what do you do at work events.
qué
[keh]
what
An interrogative word used to ask for information.
Qué puesto buscas ahora mismo.
What position are you looking for right now.
te
[teh]
yourself / you
An informal object pronoun used with reflexive-style expressions.
¿Te interesa cambiar de sector?
Are you interested in changing sectors?
dedicas
[deh-DEE-kahs]
do you do / work in
From 'dedicarse a', used to ask what someone does professionally.
¿A qué te dedicas cuando no estás buscando empleo?
What do you do when you are not job hunting?
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