Ask what he's looking for without sounding desperate or unclear

When he types 'are we just hanging out or', he's either confused about where he stands with you, or he's testing the waters to see how you'll react. Guys who are actually serious will finish that thought. Guys who want to keep things loose often leave it hanging on purpose. He might be trying to figure out if you're going to ask for commitment, or he might literally have no idea what he wants yet. Either way, the incompleteness tells you he hasn't thought it through. That matters. It means a direct question won't get you a real answer, so you need a different move.

The move here is to tell him what you're willing to do before you ask what he's doing. Say something about what you need or what you're not interested in wasting time on. This does two things at once. First, it keeps you from sounding like you're desperate for him to define the relationship. Second, it makes him actually respond to your boundary instead of just giving you a stock answer. He'll either match your energy and clarify his own position, or he'll go quiet. Either way, you learn something real. He can't give you some half-hearted 'I don't know, let's just see' if you've already said you're looking for something that moves forward.

Send your message and then stop. Don't follow up immediately asking for clarification. Give him a day or two to actually think about what you said and respond. If he comes back with something thoughtful, that's your signal he's willing to be real with you. If he deflects with a joke or ignores that part of the conversation, he's showing you he's not ready for honesty. Some guys will wait a while and then ask you out in a way that feels more solid. Others will stay vague. Neither requires another text from you right now. You've said what you needed to say. His response, or lack of one, is the data point you were looking for.