# Latin. Qvo Vadis **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2005, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287 "2005-02-28T13:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/1 "2005-02-28T13:34:21Z")
Qvo Vadis, means “where are you going”. How do I say “where am I going”? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/2 "2005-02-28T13:46:46Z")
Taking a wild guess, (with a little google-assistance.) Vadis is ‘go’ conjugated in the second person singular. ‘Vado’ would be the first-person singular - ‘I am going.’ I’m not sure if the question-word ‘quo’ (where) would need to get adjusted for the different conjugation. If not, the proper phrase would probably be ‘Quo vado’ Come to think of it, I remember (from the ‘sportsnight’ final episodes) that the motto “Where are WE going” was translated into the fictitious company name ‘Quo vadimus.’ That suggests that Quo doesn’t have to change and “Quo vado” is correct. (Whether you refer to quo or qvo is a matter of personal preference, I believe… the original latin used the v symbol, but IIRC v being used in this sort of context evolved into the letter u.) ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/3 "2005-02-28T13:58:40Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Qvo Vadis, means “where are you going”. How do I say “where am I going”? From Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2nd Ed. quo vadis? (kwo va dis) a long o, accent on va with a short a alternate (kwo va dis) a long o, accent on va with two dots over the a ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/4 "2005-02-28T15:26:15Z")
Just to confirm that “quo” does not change according to the number, person, tense or mood of the verb. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/5 "2005-02-28T19:05:45Z")
Sounds like the official airline of the Holy Roman Empire… ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/6 "2005-02-28T20:52:42Z")
Actually, shouldn’t “Where am I going?” be “ **Quo vadio?** ” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/7 "2005-02-28T23:04:24Z")
_vado_ is correct. [http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=vado&ending=](http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=vado&ending=) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/8 "2005-03-01T21:40:16Z")
Or _eo_ - AFAIK _ire_ was at least in classical Latin the standard word for “to go.” I think _vadere_ is considered rather vulgar. IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/9 "2005-03-01T21:55:15Z")
Wasn’t that the name of the company that purchased the cable company (Continental Cable?) in _SportsNite_? Anyone know what I am talking about? I miss that show. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-qvo-vadis/292287/10 "2005-03-01T23:52:35Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Wasn’t that the name of the company that purchased the cable company (Continental Cable?) in _SportsNite_? Anyone know what I am talking about? > > I miss that show. That’s the variant I mentioned above… “Quo Vadimus” – ‘Where are we going?’ I loved that ending, with the mysterious stranger in the bar telling Dana “whenever things look bad or I’ve suffered a setback, I just gather my people together and I ask them… ‘Where are we going from here?’” (paraphrasing.) Then, when they’ve found out that Quo Vadimus was the high bidder, nobody knows what to expect, and Dana bursts out that she doesn’t even know what the heck Quo Vadimus means, Jeremy supplies the translation [of course], and Dana recognizes the phrase, goes tearing off down to the bar, five minutes before air time to try and find the guy and ask him what he plans to do about the show. 🙂 🙂 I always wondered exactly what it is that Dana tells everybody after she comes back to the studio… we never hear it, just hear the opening theme music of the videotaped intro playing or something, and everyone’s all smiles as Dan& Casey do their little introductory bit. I gotta go watch that episode on the DVD again now. 😃