¿Dónde?
We already know that DÓNDE is used when we want to know WHERE something or someone IS.
It is to ask WHERE something is located or WHERE something is going to happen (or happened).
- ¿Dónde vives?
(Where do you live?) - ¿Dónde están mis zapatos?
(Where are my shoes?)
(See our the lesson about Dónde if you need to review this topic)
¿Adónde?
When you want to ask somewhere where they are going TO (which is referring to movement) or where they went (to), you use the word Adónde which is like asking “To where ….?” or “Where … to?”
- ¿Adónde vamos?
(Where are we going (to)?) - ¿Adónde llevas todas esas cosas?
(Where are you taking all those things (to)?)
You can see that adónde normally refers to movement or going in a certain direction.
Notice how the response often begins with Al or A la (to the).
- A: ¿Adónde vas? B: A la playa.
(A: Where are you going (to)? B: To the beach) - A: ¿Adónde van? B: Al estadio.
(A: Where are they going (to)? B: To the stadium)
Just like other question words in Spanish, one of the vowels has an accent mark (tilde) over it, in this case the letter O.
More example questions using Adónde
- ¿Adónde vamos? – Vamos al cine.
(Where are we going (to)? – We’re going to the movies/cinema) - ¿Adónde vas con tanta prisa?
(Where are you going (to) in such a hurry?) - ¿Adónde llevan la gente?
(Where are they taking everyone (to)?) - ¿Adónde fuiste?
(Where did you go (to)?)
¿Dónde? vs. ¿Adónde?
So a simple way to remember the difference between dónde and adónde is:
Dónde: to know the location or where something is.
Adónde: to know where someone is going to or went to.
So, how do you say Where (to) in Spanish? … ¿Adónde?