Thread: ты чего??

I see this kind of construction frequently in movies, and i think it translates to something like "what are you doing?" but I don't understand why чего is in the genitive. What would be the assumed verb/what does it imply by putting что in the genitive?

Originally Posted by hollywood40

I see this kind of construction frequently in movies, and i think it translates to something like "what are you doing?" but I don't understand why чего is in the genitive. What would be the assumed verb/what does it imply by putting что in the genitive?

Seems like "Ты чего?" by itself is entirely context dependent. What kind of situation was it used in, what emotions, what event?
It may mean (among the others) depending on a context: "Why are you upset (reassuring someone)?" "What the heck are you doing (what a stupid thing you're doing)?", "Why are you so impudent (fists ready)?"etc.

In colloquial speech "чего" can be used instead of "что" (the same as even more colloquial "чё"). It's a low style.

Yep.
1) Depending on the context it can mean "What the heck are you doing?!" or "Are you OK?" or something intermediate like "What's wrong with you?".

2) In literal style it should be accusative. The full phrase may be for example "Ты что делаешь?"

If you flip them around its usually used when speaking sympathetically. Like your girlfriend is crying and you don't know why you can just be like "Ну чего ты?" or here even just что.

чё isn't always "low speak" either. It just depends how you use it.

Originally Posted by Dogboy182

чё isn't always "low speak" either. It just depends how you use it.

?? Ok, let's say that it's VERY INFORMAL.