como que?

[u/coolkidara]

hello everyone. i am an elementary/intermediate spanish speaker, and my friend and i were chatting and i said "como que" as in "what do you mean"/"like how?" she said she'd never heard that phrase so i'm here to clear the air. is that actual slang or am i tweaking

[u/kokopellii]

Hmmm I would use como que + something somebody said to me, if that makes sense? If I ask you something and you said no, and your answer surprised me, I might say “como que no?” Or if I asked you what color the sky was and you said “Amarillo”, I might respond, “como que amarillo?” Just saying “como que” by itself doesn’t sound right to me, but I’m not a native speaker.

If I wanted to ask “what do you mean” or “like how” I would say “como así?” or even “que quieres decir?”

[u/kaelaxsuga → u/kokopellii]

Came here to say this!

[u/strawberrymilk2 → u/kokopellii]

you're talking about "cómo que [...]?" with "cómo" working as the question word. notice the accent. this is like asking "what do you mean [...]?" in English.

OP is talking about "como qué?" where it's the "qué" that's working as the question word, and where "como" is used only adverbially (meaning "like" or "such as"). OP's question is a real thing, and it's the equivalent of saying "like what?" or "such as...?" to ask for examples of what the listener previously said.

But OP used it in the wrong context. it does not mean "what do you mean?". That would instead be "cómo?" on its own or "a qué te refieres?" said more literally.

[u/SignificanceHead9999]

I could see a como qué? in a context of someone saying something like….
— El dice cosas raras.
— Como que?

So… such as? Or… what’s an example?

For your examples I agree with others with cómo así? Or just cómo?

[u/Greensward-Grey]

— I’d like to do something.
R: (Something) like what? / cómo qué?

That’s an example of how this phrase could be used.

[u/SquareIllustrator909]

I would say "como así?"

[u/Mugiwara1_137 → u/SquareIllustrator909]

Yeah, totally

Como qué would be: like what?

[u/Common-Coyote-8821 → u/Mugiwara1_137]

Is it ever an appropriate phrase? I’m not OP but I’m also a learner and I’m curious now.

For instance, if someone said they were craving something sweet, could you say “como que” as in “like what/what sweet food specifically”? Or like, in response to someone saying “Let’s do something fun tomorrow,” could you say como que?

[u/Mugiwara1_137 → u/Common-Coyote-8821]

Yeah in both examples is fine use it

• Me muero por comer algo dulce

¿Cómo qué? No lo sé, un chocolate o algo

• Hagamos algo divertido

¿Cómo qué? Podemos ir al cine o a una fiesta

[u/Plus_Lime_8790]

My grandfather, a native Spanish speaker from New Mexico, used to use the phrase “como qué” similar to how we’d use “what do you mean” in English.

Usually if one of us kids was being bratty. For example:

Kid: “shut up!”

Grandpa (in kind of mocking tone, to let us know our baby attitude could not touch him): “como qué shut up?”

Given where my grandfather was from, I wonder if it’s a regional thing (northern Mexico/SW United States)

[u/strawberrymilk2 → u/Plus_Lime_8790]

in your example, it should be "cómo que shut up?". the accent shifts the "cómo" into its question function.

"como qué?" with the un-accented como and the accented qué is what OP is talking about. so they're different questions entirely.

cómo que shut up? = "[what do you mean] shut up?"
(has a "how dare you take that tone?" nuance)

como qué? = "like what?"
(meaning "give me examples of the thing you just mentioned")

[u/sheoutedme → u/Plus_Lime_8790]

I live in the Bajío in Mexico and I hear this usage frequently, in addition to "¿como qué?" alone

[u/Common-Coyote-8821]

What did she say that you were asking her to clarify?

[u/coolkidara → u/Common-Coyote-8821]

We were chatting about our projects, and she said she wanted to make some changes to hers, to which I responded como que

[u/firestarter_ca → u/coolkidara]

In this context, it sounds correct to me. Someone might argue that if she was saying "changes" (in plural) then you might have said "¿Cómo cuáles?" However, as a native spanish speaker I do find logic in your answer, sounds good to me when I imagine the actual words you were probably using in your conversation.

[u/coco12346]

When asking about slang you should specifiy where the person saying it is from, because it changes wildly from place to place

[u/According-Kale-8]

Nop.

[u/GlottoNaut]

Llevándolo a un terreno mas especulativo puede ser una forma de expresar confusión o sorpresa "¿Cómo o qué?"

[u/d0nutbutth0le]

I would use that to repeat someone's words back to them if it's ridiculous or unbelievable like the mocking SpongeBob meme. But not always mean. Cómo que no te gusta el cilantro?? Kind of like "de qué hablas"

[u/El_t1to]

In Aragón we use it, but when we are deliverately talking like someone uneducated. It could have been normalized in some (rural) areas.

[u/Nothing-to_see_hr]

either would do. ¿Cómo? or ¿Qué?. but Cómo Qué sounds funny.

[u/Beginning_Editor_410]

It depends. What was the context? What was said to you that you replied with that?

[u/MediterraneanGuy]

¿Como qué? (pronounced like a single "komoké" word with the emphasis on the last vowel) = Like what? (give me an example)

¿Cómo que X? (no longer pronounced like a single word because that first ó has an emphasis) = What do you mean X? (what do you mean by "X"?)

¿Cómo? (intonation going down) = What do you mean? (I need you to explain that further or expand it)

¿Cómo? = What? (I didn't hear that well, can you repeat it?) (short for "¿Cómo dices?")

[u/cimocw]

literally "like what?". Your friend just doesn't know

[u/polmuadi]

Grammatically correct would be:
¿Cómo que no?

Others have said that it may work as “Like what?” In that scenario:
¿Como qué?

Pretty sure about this, any other grammar nazis that want to discuss?

[u/Money_Many3592]

Just say “mande” when you don’t understand something. Much more polite