Does "dou shimashita ka?" have a negative connotation?

[andycarmenjapanese8100]

I've seen "dou shimashita ka?" used as a phrase when somebody wants to ask another "is something wrong?" but what if I want to ask what somebody has been doing? Would they think that I was inquiring if something bad happened? If so, how do I ask them what they've been doing in a way that doesn't imply that something is wrong?

[community.japanese]

andy-san,
yes; "dou shimashita ka" sounds more like "what's wrong?" or "what's the matter?" to ask someone before offering a help.
If you simply want to ask what s/he is doing, it'd be "nani o shiteirun desu ka?", but this can be both simple question
and question with suspicious connotaion. I think it's the same in English: what are you doing?

Or, did you want to say "how have you been?" instead of "what are you doing?"

Hope I'm answering to your question correctly.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[andycarmenjapanese8100]

You understood my question but...

"nani o shiteirun desu ka?"

This is the present tense. It's "what are you doing [now]?" right? What if I wanted to ask someone what they've been doing in the past?

"nani o shite imashita ka?"?

[community.japanese]

andy-san,
yes, you're right; "nani o shite imashita ka" is correct.
You can also say "nani o shite itandesu ka". But again, this must be used with "soft tone of voice"
not to sound offensive.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com