What in the world?

[GuapaErika]

¿Cómo se dice "What in the world??" o "What the heck?" en español?

Here's a scenario: I'm at the bank and it is taking FOREVER for someone to get to my transaction in the drive-thru and I want to say "What in the world is going on? What the heck? (Some may say "What the hell")...

Is there something other than "¿Qué diablos?"

[Rusty]

¡¿Qué demonios?!

This, like the other phrase you listed, translates from the mild 'What the heck'/'What in the world' to the coarser translation you gave.

You can use this phrase as a question or exclamatory, by itself, or in a sentence with or without 'por' or 'para'.

[GuapaErika]

¡¿Qué demonios?!

This, like the other phrase you listed, translates from the mild 'What the heck'/'What in the world' to the coarser translation you gave.

You can use this phrase as a question or exclamatory, by itself, or in a sentence with or without 'por' or 'para'.

Is there a different phrase that could be used? Does the translation (ranging from mild to coarser) change just based on the tone of voice used?

[aleCcowaN]

For "¡¿Qué diablos?!" and "¡¿Qué miércoles?!" (an euphemism for "¡¿Que m*****?!, the latter meaning "What the f***?!" itself) that are just a bit milder than "What the hell?!" you may use a lot of euphemisms (like "What the heck is going on?" or "What on earth is going on?):

¡Caramba! ¿Qué está pasando?
¿Qué cuernos pasa?
¿Qué diantres pasa?

[Don José]

Also: "¿Qué demonios?", and of course some swearwords...

[GuapaErika]

For "¡¿Qué diablos?!" and "¡¿Qué miércoles?!" (an a euphemism for "¡¿Que m*****?!, the latter meaning "What the f***?!" itself) that are just a bit milder than "What the hell?!" you may use a lot of euphemisms (like "What the heck is going on?" or "What on earth is going on?):

¡Caramba! ¿Qué está pasando?
¿Qué cuernos pasa?
¿Qué diantres pasa?

Muchas gracias - I feel like I need to learn more euphemisms and common phrases to use in everyday situations instead of just textbook stuff. :D

(It's "a" euphemism, not "an" euphemism, because the word begins with a consonant sound (yyyyou-phemism), not a vowel sound. I just wanted to give you a little tidbit of help since you helped me!!)

Also: "¿Qué demonios?", and of course some swearwords...

Jaja - I learned some swear words while I was in Spain, and also learned that they don't work quite the same in Mexico.. :)

[aleCcowaN]

(It's "a" euphemism, not "an" euphemism, because the word begins with a consonant sound (yyyyou-phemism), not a vowel sound. I just wanted to give you a little tidbit of help since you helped me!!)

Thank you. I no longer make that mistake with university (the initial sound is the consonant /j/, written using the international phonetic alphabet). The problem is that in my mind most English words I know have no particular sound :o -- it works as an only-written language to me --. Imagine my surprise when I learnt the pronunciation of words like procedure or entice.