lo que decía

what (someone) was saying

→ lo
phrase Uncommon #21,016
what (someone) was saying The subject is usually clear from context; decía can also mean “used to say.”
SP: No entendí lo que decía el profesor.
EN: I didn't understand what the teacher was saying.

Porque hago siempre lo que decía mi abuelo.

Because I always do what my grandfather said.

— El espíritu de la colmena (1973)

Seguro que no sabía lo que decía.

He surely didn't know what he was saying.

— Summertime (1955)

Creí que no estaba segura de lo que decía.

I thought she wasn't sure what she was saying.

¿Te refieres a lo que decía tu amiga científica?

Are you referring to what your scientist friend was saying?

— El día del fin del mundo: Migración (2026)

Pero nadie sabe lo que decía la nota.

But nobody knows what the note said.

Tom apenas podía entender lo que decía Mary.

Tom could barely understand what Mary was saying.

Entendí lo que decía, las señales que me enviaba.

I understood what he was saying, the signals he was sending me.

— Anatomía de una Caída (2023)

Ya que Tom hablaba en francés, yo no podía entender lo que decía.

Since Tom was speaking French, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

Tom admitió que lo que decía estaba mal.

Tom admitted that what he said was wrong.

Al no entender lo que decía, no escuché más.

Since I didn't understand what he was saying, I didn't listen anymore.

Brunel parecía no haber entendido lo que decía claramente la nota.

Brunel seemed not to have understood what the note clearly said.

Un hombre nunca debe correr, es lo que decía mi padre.

A man should never run, that's what my father used to say.

— タンポポ (1985)

Leí un artículo en japonés, y luego expliqué lo que decía en español.

I read an article in Japanese, and then explained what it said in Spanish.

Me quedé pensando en lo que decía.

I kept thinking about what he was saying.

Tom no parecía interesado en lo que decía Mary.

Tom didn't seem interested in what Mary was saying.

Tom no se podía creer lo que decía Mary.

Tom couldn't believe what Mary was saying.

Kikuchiyo tenía razón en lo que decía.

Kikuchiyo was right in what he said.

— Los Siete Samuráis (1954)