How to ask “What does your son do?” using hijo in Spanish

Introduction

Learning how to ask about someone’s family is essential in everyday Spanish conversation. One common question is about a person’s son. This article explains how to ask What does your son do? using hijo, shows polite variations, provides pronunciation tips, and gives lots of natural examples for beginner to intermediate learners.

Basic structure: asking about occupation

To ask What does your son do? in Spanish, the most straightforward phrase is ¿Qué hace tu hijo? This uses the interrogative word qué, the third-person singular form of the verb hacer, and the possessive pronoun tu. The structure mirrors English: interrogative + verb + subject.

Example: ¿Qué hace tu hijo?
Meaning: What does your son do?

Pronunciation and stress

Pronounce qué with a strong initial sound, like kay. Hace is pronounced AH-seh. Tu is like too but short. Hijo is pronounced EE-ho, with the h silent in Spanish. Putting it together: kay AH-seh too EE-ho. Practice saying the question with a rising intonation at the end if you are speaking.

More natural and polite alternatives

Direct questions are fine among friends but you may want more polite or indirect forms when talking to acquaintances or elders. These alternatives soften the question while keeping the meaning.

Using ¿A qué se dedica tu hijo?

One very common and polite way to ask about someone’s job is ¿A qué se dedica tu hijo? This literally asks to what does your son dedicate himself, and is often used for occupations or professions.

Example: ¿A qué se dedica tu hijo?
Meaning: What does your son do for a living?

Usage note: This phrase is slightly more formal and appropriate for business or polite social contexts.

Using ¿En qué trabaja tu hijo?

Another natural option is ¿En qué trabaja tu hijo? This asks in what your son works and is equivalent to What does your son work in? or What is your son’s job?

Example: ¿En qué trabaja tu hijo?
Meaning: What does your son work as?

Usage note: This is more neutral and commonly used in casual conversation.

Using ¿A qué se dedica su hijo? for formal address

When addressing someone formally, switch tu to su. The phrase becomes ¿A qué se dedica su hijo? Use su with usted or ustedes. This is the respectful form for older people or in formal contexts.

Example: ¿A qué se dedica su hijo?
Meaning: What does your son do? (formal)

Possessives and variations

Different possessive forms change the tone and formality. Use hijo with tu, su, vuestro, nuestro according to who owns the son in the conversation.

Tu vs su

Tu is informal and used among friends and family. Su is formal or plural and used with usted or ustedes. Compare:

¿Qué hace tu hijo? — informal
¿Qué hace su hijo? — formal

Nuestro and vuestro

If you speak about our or your (plural) son, use nuestro or vuestro. These are less common in questions about someone else’s son but useful in group conversations.

Example: ¿Qué hace nuestro hijo? (What does our son do?)
Example: ¿Qué hace vuestro hijo? (What does your son do? plural)

Contextual examples and short dialogues

Seeing the question in dialogue helps you learn natural rhythms and follow-up reactions. Here are several short exchanges for different contexts.

Casual conversation among friends

— Hola, ¿qué tal?
— Bien. ¿Qué hace tu hijo?
— Trabaja en una cafetería y estudia por la noche.

Translation: Hi, how are you? Fine. What does your son do? He works in a café and studies at night.

Polite conversation with an acquaintance

— Mucho gusto. ¿A qué se dedica su hijo?
— Es ingeniero de software en una empresa internacional.

Translation: Nice to meet you. What does your son do? He is a software engineer at an international company.

Asking about school-aged children

When the son is a student rather than working, you can still ask using the same structures. Native speakers might ask ¿Qué estudia tu hijo? instead, which directly asks what he studies.

Example: ¿Qué estudia tu hijo?
Meaning: What does your son study?

Expanding the question: age, location, job details

After asking what someone does, you often ask follow-up questions. These help you gather details about the job, study, or daily routine. Adding these phrases makes conversation flow naturally.

Asking age and workplace

Use ¿Cuántos años tiene tu hijo? to ask how old he is, and ¿Dónde trabaja tu hijo? to ask where he works.

Examples:
¿Cuántos años tiene tu hijo?
Dónde trabaja tu hijo?

Asking about hours and schedule

To learn about the schedule, use ¿A qué hora trabaja tu hijo? or ¿Qué horario tiene tu hijo? These are useful when discussing childcare, schedules, or planning visits.

Examples:
¿A qué hora trabaja tu hijo?
Qué horario tiene tu hijo?

Common verbs and nouns to use with hijo

When talking about what someone does, several verbs and nouns frequently appear. Familiarize yourself with them to respond naturally.

Trabajar — to work. Example: Mi hijo trabaja en un hospital.
Estudiar — to study. Example: Mi hijo estudia medicina.
Ser — to be (profession). Example: Mi hijo es profesor.
Hacer prácticas — to do an internship. Example: Mi hijo hace prácticas en una firma.
Estar de prácticas — to be interning. Example: Mi hijo está de prácticas en Madrid.

Sample responses you can use

Here are short, natural replies when someone asks about your child.

No, mi hijo es médico. — No, my son is a doctor.
Sí, mi hijo trabaja como diseñador gráfico. — Yes, my son works as a graphic designer.
Mi hijo está estudiando derecho. — My son is studying law.

Cultural notes and polite conversation tips

Asking about family is common and generally seen as friendly in Spanish-speaking cultures. However, be mindful of privacy. If someone seems hesitant, change to a more general question or share about your own family first to build rapport.

Tip: Use a softer intonation and a phrase like Si no te importa, ¿a qué se dedica tu hijo? to show politeness. This means If you don’t mind, what does your son do?

Non-binary and inclusive language

While hijo specifically means son, for inclusive language you might ask about the child’s role without gendered terms. For example, ¿A qué se dedica su hijo o hija? can cover both son and daughter. If the child’s gender is unknown and you want to be neutral, you can ask ¿A qué se dedican sus hijos? when referring to children in general.

Common mistakes to avoid

Beginners often confuse hacer and trabajar when asking about jobs. Remember that hacer in ¿Qué hace tu hijo? is idiomatic and perfectly natural, but if you want to be precise about employment, use trabajar or a qué se dedica. Also, do not forget to match possessive pronouns to the level of formality: tu for informal, su for formal.

Another frequent error is misplacing por and para. Those prepositions change meaning and are not needed in the basic question forms covered here.

Quick reference phrases

Keep these simple templates handy.

¿Qué hace tu hijo? — What does your son do?
¿A qué se dedica tu hijo? — What does your son do for a living?
¿En qué trabaja tu hijo? — What does your son work in?
¿Dónde trabaja tu hijo? — Where does your son work?
¿Qué estudia tu hijo? — What does your son study?

Conclusion

Asking What does your son do? in Spanish is simple and versatile. Use ¿Qué hace tu hijo? for casual talks, ¿A qué se dedica tu hijo? or ¿En qué trabaja tu hijo? for more polite or precise questions, and switch to su when you need formality. With these phrases and the sample dialogues, you can comfortably ask about jobs, studies, and schedules while sounding natural and respectful.