Después and a continuación

[dupond]

Hi everyone

Do these sentences mean the same thing?

No sé que hacer después.

No sé que hacer a continuación.


If so, can "después" and "a continuación" be used interchangeably?


Thanks

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by dupond

Hi everyone

Do these sentences mean the same thing?

No sé que hacer después.

No sé que hacer a continuación.

Depending on context, maybe.

Originally Posted by dupond

If so, can "después" and "a continuación" be used interchangeably?


Thanks

Depending on context, maybe. But not always.

The best single-expression translation equivalent of después in English is "after(ward)", while for a continuación it is "then". The meanings overlap to an extent, but they are not complete synonyms.

[dupond]

I wanted to say "I don't know what to do next."

Are después and a continuación the right words for that?

[Rusty]

In this case, I would use 'a continuación', for 'next'.

[poli]

I would use próximamente. Would that fit the meaning as well?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Poli: The way I see it, it would change the listener's perception because, in this context, "a continuación" and "después" assume we know the previous situation, but "próximamente" is mostly used for creating expectation about something we will do or will happen in the near future.
While "no sé qué hacer después/a continuación" would give me the idea that there is a situation to be solved, "no sé qué hacer próximamente" doesn't need to fix anything, it would just talk about making future plans.

- (I lost my job) No sé qué hacer después.
- (I'd like to open a new business) No sé qué hacer próximamente.

[dupond]

Cheers. Thanks