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What does qué lo que mean?

Say itKEH loh KEH/ˈke lo ˈke/interjection (greeting)

Where you’ll hear it
  • Dominican Republic

A very informal Dominican greeting that means "what’s up?" or "how’s it going?" and is often written KLK in texts.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Qué lo que is a casual greeting from the Dominican Republic. It means "what’s up?" or "how’s it going?" The Real Academia Española (the RAE, which sets standard Spanish) says it is typical of young people’s speech in parts of the Americas, such as the Dominican Republic [1]. In texts and online chat, Dominicans shorten it to KLK [2]. Diario Libre, a Dominican newspaper, says KLK is widely used there to greet someone or to start a friendly conversation [3].

Say it KEH loh KEH, with stress on the first and last words. In Spanish, qu sounds like k, so there is no "w" sound. The e sounds like the e in "bet." The phrase never changes: the same words work for a man, a woman, or a whole group. It’s friendly and very informal, and it fits best between friends and people your own age.

Word stats

How casual
Very informal and linked to young people, so save it for friends and people your age.
OK at work
Fine in a chat with a coworker you’re close to. In an email to your boss, "hola" ("hi") is the safer hello.
Abuela-safe
Nothing rude in it, so abuela (grandma) won’t gasp. She might just answer with a plain "bien, ¿y tú?" ("fine, and you?").
Rudeness
Not rude. Every source treats it as a friendly hello. It’s only too casual for formal settings.
Freshness
More people look it up every year, and Kim Kardashian using KLK with makeup artist Ariel Tejada surely didn’t hurt [3].

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · Friday night
  1. Yaritzaklk 👀
  2. Younada, just chilling. you?
  3. Yaritzasame. pizza later?

What it means here: Yaritza’s klk means "what’s up?", and "nada" means "nothing," a normal answer.

Comments on Ramón’s photo
  1. Ramónback in Santo Domingo 🌴 klk mi gente
  2. Luisaklk!! welcome back
  3. Pedroqué lo que primo, call me

What it means here: Ramón says "what’s up, my people" ("mi gente" means "my people"), and Pedro answers "what’s up, cousin" ("primo" means "cousin").

Work chat · DM with a friendly coworker
  1. Juniorklk, you free for lunch?
  2. Youqué lo que! yes, 12?
  3. Juniordale

What it means here: Between coworkers who are friends, klk is a quick "hey, what’s up," and "dale" means "okay, let’s do it."

How to use it

  • ¿Qué lo que? on its own, as a hello¿Qué lo que? ¿Todo bien? ("What’s up? All good?")
  • qué lo que + a name or a word for a friend¿Qué lo que, Juan? ("What’s up, Juan?")
  • klk at the start of a textklk, ¿dónde estás? ("what’s up, where are you?")
  • Answering qué lo que—¿Qué lo que? —Tranquilo, ¿y tú? ("—What’s up? —Chilling, and you?" A woman says tranquila.)

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds off¿Qué es lo que?

    Say this¿Qué lo que?

    Don’t add the missing es ("is"). The greeting comes from a longer question, but ¿qué es lo que? on its own sounds like an unfinished question: "what is it that…?"

  • Sounds off"KWAY loh KWAY"

    Say this"KEH loh KEH"

    In Spanish, qu sounds like k, with no "w" sound. The e sounds like the e in "bet."

  • Sounds offEstimado señor: klk. ("Dear sir: what’s up.")

    Say thisBuenos días. ("Good morning.")

    Qué lo que is very informal. Keep it for friends and chats, not formal emails.

  • Sounds off"It means ‘what the what?’, so they’re confused."

    Say this"It means ‘what’s up?’"

    The odd word order comes from a shortened question, ¿qué es lo que hay? ("what is it that’s there?") [1]. Nobody is confused. They’re just saying hi.

qué lo que or not?

Is each of these qué lo que? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. Your Dominican friend texts you "klk" at 9 p.m.

  2. A teacher looks at a broken window and asks, "¿Qué es lo que pasa aquí?"

  3. A fan comments "qué lo que mi gente" on a singer’s post from Santo Domingo.

  4. You start a cover letter with "KLK, hiring team."

The qué lo que family

  • KLKThe texting form of qué lo que, made from its letters.Three letters and zero accents to worry about.
  • K lo KA mixed spelling, with letters at the ends and the word lo in the middle.For people who can’t choose between texting and spelling.
  • ¿qué es lo que hay?The longer question the RAE says the greeting comes from, meaning "what is it that’s there?" [1]The full version, for days when you have time for five words.

Where it came from

  1. 2014A Telemundo article on Dominican phrases lists "Qué lo qué!, KLK" as meaning "¿Qué tal?" ("how’s it going?") and "¿Qué hay de nuevo?" ("what’s new?"). It says Dominicans shorten it to KLK in internet chat [2]. This is a dated mention, not the first use.
  2. 2022The RAE answers a reader on X. It says klk is an abbreviation, in a deliberately nonstandard spelling, of the greeting ¿qué lo qué?, which comes from ¿qué es lo que hay? [1].
  3. 2026Kim Kardashian surprises her followers by using KLK with makeup artist Ariel Tejada. Diario Libre calls it a popular Dominican greeting [3].
  4. TodayNo one has found who said it first or when. Dominicans keep saying it anyway.

Qué lo qué, qué lo que, or KLK: which spelling is right?

You’ll see this greeting written in several ways. The RAE writes ¿qué lo qué?, with an accent on both words [1]. Many websites write qué lo que, without the second accent. In texts, most people skip the words and use letters.

SpellingWhere you see it
¿qué lo qué?The RAE’s spelling [1]
qué lo queMany websites and casual writing
KLK or klkTexts, chats, and social media [1][2]
K lo KChats, as a mix of letters and words

The RAE calls KLK an abbreviation with a deliberately nonstandard spelling [1]. The K stands for the k sound in qué, and the L stands for lo.

Why does the phrase look so strange? Word by word, qué lo qué is close to "what the what?" The RAE says it comes from a longer question, ¿qué es lo que hay? ("what is it that’s there?"). People also say es ("is") or pasa ("is happening") in place of hay [1]. Drop the middle words and you get qué lo qué.

Which one should you use? In a text, klk is the most natural. If you want to write the full phrase in standard spelling, use the RAE’s ¿qué lo qué?

The sources link this greeting to the Dominican Republic. You may hear it in other places too, but there is no good record yet of how other countries use it.

Sources

  1. #RAEconsultas La forma «klk» es la sigla con ortografía transgresora del saludo «¿qué lo qué?»Real Academia Española (@RAEinforma on X), 2022-01-31
  2. Lanzan diccionario de fraseología dominicanaTelemundo 47, 2014-07-19
  3. "KLK manita", Kim Kardashian soprende con saludo dominicanoDiario Libre, 2026-06-23

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