Learn how to use Spanish "lo que"
In Spanish lo queis used to expresswhat, which, that which, or the thing that, in reference to some idea expressed in the same sentence.
See and hear how it is used in these examples. The idea lo que refers to is underlined:
Lo quequiero decir es que no me das miedo.What I mean is that you don't frighten me.
Le apasionan los documentales históricos,lo queme parece aburridísimo.She loves history documentaries, which I find very boring.
Lo queadmiro de ellos es su tenacidad.What I admire about them is their tenacity.
Han recaudado mucho dinero,lo queme pone muy contenta.They have collected a lot of money, which makes me very happy.
Sometimes, lo que forms part of the expression of the idea:
A él le gustalo queella odia.He likes what she hates.
Puedes hacerlo quequieras, no me importa.You can do what you want, I don’t care. [you = tú]
No me digaslo quetengo que decidir.Don't tell me whatI have to decide.
Ustedes no saben lo que vi el otro día.You don't know what I saw the other day.
¿Qué eslo quequieres?What is it that you want? [you = tú]
"Lo que" vs "la cosa que"
- In sentences that start with lo que we can usually (not always) use the expression la cosa que as well.
- Whenlo queis in the middle of the sentence, this normally isn't possible.
This works very similarly toits English equivalent. Here, La cosa que could replace lo que:
Lo que admiro de ellos essu tenacidad.
What I admire about them is their tenacity.
The thing that I admire about them is their tenacity.
Here, La cosa que can't replace lo que:
Han recaudado mucho dinero,lo que me pone muy contenta.
They have collected a lot of money, which makes me very happy.
They have collected a lot of money, the thing that makes me very happy.
"Lo que" vs "que"
Whilst they are similar, don't confuseque and lo que. In this example, lo que refers to the whole sentence/idea that the school is closed:
El colegio está cerrado, lo que quiere decir que están de vacaciones.The school is closed,whichmeans they are on holidays.
Whereas in this example with que, it refers to the noun, the school.
El colegio, que está cerrado, abrirá la semana que viene.The school, whichis closed, will open next week.
Note on "all that.../everything that..."
When we want to say all/everything that... we say:todo lo que
Be careful not to say "todo que..."
Todo lo que quiero es queaceptes tomar un café conmigo.All (that) I want is for you to agree to have a coffee with me.
Todo lo que se dijo en la reunión era confidencial.Everything that was said in the meeting was confidential.
SeeQue/ el cual/ la cual/ los cuales/ quien/ quienes = who, that, which (Spanish relative pronouns) to learn more.
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Examples and resources
Lo quequiero decir es que no me das miedo.What I mean is that you don't frighten me.
Han recaudado mucho dinero,lo queme pone muy contenta.They have collected a lot of money, which makes me very happy.
El colegio está cerrado, lo que quiere decir que están de vacaciones.The school is closed,whichmeans they are on holidays.
Lo queadmiro de ellos es su tenacidad.What I admire about them is their tenacity.
Le apasionan los documentales históricos,lo queme parece aburridísimo.She loves history documentaries, which I find very boring.
A él le gustalo queella odia.He likes what she hates.
No me digaslo quetengo que decidir.Don't tell me whatI have to decide.
No tengo ni idea de lo que querrá ese chico.I have no idea of what that guy might want.
Todo lo que se dijo en la reunión era confidencial.Everything that was said in the meeting was confidential.
Todo lo que quiero es queaceptes tomar un café conmigo.All (that) I want is for you to agree to have a coffee with me.
Ustedes no saben lo que vi el otro día.You don't know what I saw the other day.
Puedes hacerlo quequieras, no me importa.You can do what you want, I don’t care. [you = tú]
No vas a creerlo queme pasó el otro día.You are not going to believe whathappened to me the other day. [you = tú]
¿Qué eslo quequieres?What is it that you want? [you = tú]
