French Question Words: Qui, Que, Quel, Lequel, and More
These words slot into the three constructions covered on How to Ask Questions in French, rising intonation, est-ce que, inversion. This page is about the words themselves.
Que asks about a thing. Which form you use depends on what that thing is doing in the sentence, and how casual you're being.
When the thing is what's being acted on, que works with either of the two constructions from page one, and in casual speech, the question word can also move to the end of the sentence instead, where it becomes quoi.
All three ask the same thing, what are you looking for, the thing being searched for is on the receiving end of the action.
When the thing is doing the action itself, rather than receiving it, que can't be used at all. French only has the fixed phrase qu'est-ce qui for this.
| Doing the action | Receiving the action | After a preposition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | qui | qui | qui |
| Thing | qu'est-ce qui | que / qu'est-ce que | quoi |
Qui asks about a person. Unlike que, it keeps the same form no matter which role it's filling.
Qui also has est-ce que-style long forms, mirroring qu'est-ce qui and qu'est-ce que, though they're optional since the short form already covers every role.
These four ask about a place, a time, a manner, and a reason. Each one works in all three constructions from page one.
| Word | Casual | Est-ce que | Inversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Où | Tu vas où ? | Où est-ce que tu vas ? | Où vas-tu ? |
| Quand | Tu commences ton nouveau travail quand ? | Quand est-ce que tu commences ton nouveau travail ? | Quand commences-tu ton nouveau travail ? |
| Comment | Comment tu vas travailler le matin ? | Comment est-ce que tu vas travailler le matin ? | Comment vas-tu travailler le matin ? |
| Pourquoi | Pourquoi il dort si peu ? | Pourquoi est-ce qu'il dort si peu ? | Pourquoi dort-il si peu ? |
For the full construction-by-construction breakdown, including noun subjects and the register spectrum, see How to Ask Questions in French.
Combien asks about a quantity, either on its own or with de + noun for "how many/much of" something specific.
With de + noun:
Quel asks "which" or "what," directly in front of a noun, and it's an adjective, so it agrees with that noun in gender and number.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | quel | quels |
| Feminine | quelle | quelles |
Quel also pairs directly with être, without needing est-ce que or inversion. It asks which one, out of a category of possibilities, rather than what something is by nature, the way que/quoi would.
Lequel asks "which one," standing in for a noun that's already been mentioned or is clear from context, rather than sitting in front of one like quel does. It agrees in gender and number with the noun it replaces.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | lequel | lesquels |
| Feminine | laquelle | lesquelles |
Lequel also contracts with à and de, the same way le/les do elsewhere, auquel, à laquelle, auxquels, auxquelles, duquel, de laquelle, desquels, desquelles. That mechanic is covered in full on Complex Relative Pronouns: Auquel, Duquel and Related Forms.
Several question words can follow a preposition to ask about the object of that preposition specifically, who or what something is being done with, for, in, or about.
There's no fixed list to memorize, any preposition can combine this way: qui for a person, quoi for a thing, quel + noun for a specific thing.