¿Qué hay de ti?

[Sang]

The question translate as What about you? But can you help me understand the extra "hay" in the sentence. How can I make sense of it as an English speaker? Thanks

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

When learning everyday expressions, my advice is that you learn them as they are, without questioning the grammar too much. If you are a beginner, it's better that you just learn the equivalences, since the explanations for some uses of language may be complicated, and will remain unclear until you reach the actual level where these structures are learnt.
That said, since, as a student, I always hated teachers refusing to explain complicated things at lower levels of learning, I'll try a simplified answer:
"Hay" is the impersonal form of the verb "haber", and it it means "there is/are" in English, and it's used to describe the things that exist in a place or context.
- En la mesa hay un libro.
There is a book on the table.
- En mi cartera no hay dinero.
In my wallet there is no money.
- No hay problema.
No problem.
- En la vida hay muchas dificultades.
In life there are many difficulties.
- En el nido hay tres pájaros.
There are three birds in the nest.


As for the sentence "¿Qué hay de ti?", it literally means "what is there about you?"
The question is asking for new information from you, but not in a weird way, only wanting to know how have you been lately or asking for the equivalent of the information recently provided by your conversation partner.

-¡Hola! Hace mucho tiempo que no te veo. ¿Qué hay de ti?
Hello! It's been a long time I haven't seen you. How have you been?/What's new?
-Trabajo en una zapatería. ¿Y qué hay de ti? ¿A qué te dedicas?
I work in a shoeshop. And what about you? What do you do for a living?
-Estoy aquí porque vine a recoger un paquete. ¿Qué hay de ti? ¿Tú a qué viniste?
I'm here because I came to pick up a package. How about you? Why did you come here?
-Me gusta jugar futbol. ¿Qué hay de ti? ¿Practicas algún deporte?
I like playing football. How about you? Do you practice any sport?

[Rusty]

The "extra" hay makes for a better question than the English translation you were given. No verb exists in the English translation.

The Spanish question literally asks, "What is there from you?" This can be reworded to the English questions "What's new?" "What's the latest?" or "What's been going on in your life since we last talked?" These can all be used to start up a conversation with someone else, without any other dialog and/or context.

The English question "What about you?" can only be asked in context. It could follow "I'm going to see a movie," for example, and would then mean "What are you going to do?" It could also mean "Do you want to go with me?" There's no implied meaning in the English question. It cannot stand alone.

The Spanish question needs no context to make sense. Therefore, it is not the equivalent of "What about you?"

[Sang]

Thank you. Your explanation does help a lot as it's a lot easier to learn thing if my brain have something to grab on to then when I have to just take it as it ��.