French Question Words: Qui, Que, Où, Quand, Comment, Pourquoi, Combien — Complete Guide
The Three Ways to Ask Questions in French
Before covering question words, you need to know that French has three ways to form any question — from informal to very formal:
- Intonation only (very informal): Tu vas où ?
- Est-ce que (neutral): Où est-ce que tu vas ?
- Inversion (formal): Où vas-tu ?
In everyday spoken French (including Canada), est-ce que is the most common. Inversion appears in writing, formal speech, and on TCF exams. Intonation-only is casual conversation.
QUI — Who / Whom
Qui asks about a person. It can be a subject or an object.
| Function | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject (who does it?) | Qui + verb | Qui parle ? → Who is speaking? |
| Object (who does X see?) | Qui est-ce que or inversion | Qui est-ce que tu vois ? → Who do you see? |
| After preposition | Préposition + qui | Avec qui travailles-tu ? → Who do you work with? |
QUE / QUOI — What
Que and quoi both mean "what" but are used differently.
- Que is used before a verb (it is the object): Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? → What are you doing?
- Quoi is used after a preposition or in informal standalone questions: À quoi tu penses ? → What are you thinking about? / Quoi ? → What? (informal)
| Style | Subject question (What is happening?) | Object question (What do you want?) |
|---|---|---|
| Informal | Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? | Tu veux quoi ? |
| Neutral | Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? | Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? |
| Formal | Que se passe-t-il ? | Que voulez-vous ? |
OÙ — Where
- Où es-tu ? → Where are you?
- D'où viens-tu ? → Where are you from?
- Où est-ce qu'il habite ? → Where does he live?
- Par où est-il passé ? → Which way did he go?
QUAND — When
- Quand pars-tu ? → When are you leaving?
- C'est quand la réunion ? → When is the meeting? (informal)
- Depuis quand attends-tu ? → Since when have you been waiting?
- Jusqu'à quand ? → Until when?
COMMENT — How / What (name/condition)
- Comment tu t'appelles ? → What's your name?
- Comment allez-vous ? → How are you? (formal)
- Comment est-ce que ça fonctionne ? → How does it work?
- Comment ça se fait que... ? → How come... ? (informal)
POURQUOI — Why
- Pourquoi tu fais ça ? → Why are you doing that?
- Pourquoi est-ce que tu es triste ? → Why are you sad?
- Pourquoi pas ? → Why not?
Note: Pourquoi cannot be used with simple inversion alone when it starts the question — you must use est-ce que or a longer inversion: ❌ Pourquoi pars-tu ? ← this is actually acceptable in formal French, but Pourquoi est-ce que tu pars ? is far more natural.
COMBIEN — How Much / How Many
- Combien ça coûte ? → How much does it cost?
- Combien de personnes sont venues ? → How many people came?
- Combien de temps faut-il ? → How long does it take?
- C'est combien ? → How much is it? (informal)
QUEL / QUELLE — Which / What (adjective)
Quel agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| quel (masc. sing.) | Quel film tu regardes ? |
| quelle (fem. sing.) | Quelle heure est-il ? |
| quels (masc. pl.) | Quels cours suis-tu ? |
| quelles (fem. pl.) | Quelles langues parles-tu ? |
Lequel / Laquelle — Which one (pronoun)
Lequel replaces quel + noun when the noun was already mentioned:
- J'ai deux livres. Lequel tu préfères ? → I have two books. Which one do you prefer?
- Auquel de ces cours t'es-tu inscrit ? → Which of these courses did you sign up for?
Quick Summary Table
| Word | Meaning | Refers to |
|---|---|---|
| qui | who/whom | People |
| que / quoi | what | Things (que before verb, quoi after prep or alone) |
| où | where | Place |
| quand | when | Time |
| comment | how / what (name) | Manner |
| pourquoi | why | Reason |
| combien | how much/many | Quantity |
| quel/quelle | which/what | Adjective — modifies a noun |
Want a structured path through grammar like this? Explore our French learning parcours for a complete course roadmap.