What is the most natural translation of the English phrase, "What's wrong?" (i.e. what you would ask a person who appears sad or hurt or withdrawn)? ¿Qué te pasó? would be one option, but that seems like a blunt "What wrong with you?" or "What happened to you?" instead of a compassionate "What's wrong?"
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@Icarus: Will do soon. A lot of them I've intentionally left open since the site is relatively young and I still don't think they've gotten a solid, complete answer.– jrdiokoCommented Jan 16, 2012 at 23:21
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2 Answers
Most common way that I hear in Argentina is
¿Qué (te) pasa?
This can be used for the situation you described, as a compassionate "What's wrong?" But there are heaps of other ways that could be used just as well. The feeling for each is really found in the tone in your voice when you ask the question.
¿Qué pasó? - What happened?
¿Cuál es el problema? - What is the problem?
¿Qué hay? - What's the matter?
¿Pasa algo? - is something the matter?
This one feels a little less compassionate imo
¿Qué tienes? - What's your problem?
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2May I also add that you can also change the connotations of your questions by adding words to the end. Eg. ¿Qué te pasa chiquito? - A compassionate question ^.^ ¿Qué te pasa boludo? - A little less friendly >.<– KageCommented Jan 16, 2012 at 23:10
"¿Qué ocurre?"
or
"¿Qué pasa?"
