lo que

Lo Que Construction

Level 3

'Lo que' means 'what' or 'the thing that'. It can refer to things, actions, ideas, or a whole statement.

How It Works

'Lo que' combines neuter lo with the relative pronoun que.

What or the Thing That
The clause can act as a subject or object: Lo que dices es interesante. (What you say is interesting.) It can also refer to concrete things without naming a gendered noun: Guardé lo que compré. (I put away what I bought.)

A Whole Previous Statement
Él llegó tarde, lo que molestó al jefe. (He arrived late, which annoyed the boss.) Here 'lo que' refers to his arriving late.

Lo Que and Qué
The interrogative qué has an accent in direct and indirect questions: ¿Qué quieres? (What do you want?); No sé qué quieres. (I don't know what you want.) 'Lo que' is a relative expression: No me gusta lo que quieres. (I don't like what you want.) A relative clause can appear inside a question too: ¿Te gusta lo que compré? (Do you like what I bought?) The choice is not simply statements versus questions.

Lo Que and El Que / La Que
The forms el que / la que identify a referent by gender and number. The corresponding noun may have been mentioned or may be understood from context. Compare No me gusta lo que veo (I don't like what I see) with No me gusta este coche; prefiero el que vimos ayer (I don't like this car; I prefer the one we saw yesterday).

Examples (5)

  1. No entiendo lo que dices.

    I don't understand what you are saying.

    Word by Word: Not I-understand that which you-say.

  2. Lo que más me gusta es viajar.

    What I like the most is traveling.

    Word by Word: That which more to-me pleases is to-travel.

  3. Eso es exactamente lo que necesitaba.

    That is exactly what I needed.

    Word by Word: That is exactly that which I-needed.

  4. Me sorprendió lo que pasó ayer.

    What happened yesterday surprised me.

    Word by Word: To-me surprised that which happened yesterday.

  5. Lo que importa es ser feliz.

    What matters is being happy.

    Word by Word: That which matters is to-be happy.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'lo que' when asking the ordinary information question 'What do you want to eat?'.

    ¿Lo que quieres comer?
    ¿Qué quieres comer?

    For this information question, use interrogative 'qué'. 'Lo que' does not replace it in this sentence. This does not ban 'lo que' from questions: ¿Te gusta lo que compré? is correct. An echo fragment may have a special conversational context.

  • Using gendered 'el que' when the intended reference is the content of someone's words.

    No entiendo el que dices.
    No entiendo lo que dices.

    For 'I don't understand what you are saying', use 'lo que'. 'El que' identifies a masculine referent, mentioned or understood; it is not the form intended for the content here. A different context with a masculine noun could license 'el que'.

How It Connects

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lo queLevel 3Lo Que Construction

Learn This First

To learn 'lo que', you first need to understand how the basic relative pronoun 'que' connects ideas. You also need to be familiar with definite articles, as 'lo' acts as a neuter article here to turn a whole idea into a noun-like concept. Finally, distinguishing it from the question word 'qué' is essential for correct usage in statements versus questions.

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lo que