Qui and que are the two most common relative pronouns in French. They connect two ideas about the same person or thing, so you avoid repeating a noun twice. Both can be translated as “who,” “which,” or “that” in English, but they are not interchangeable. The choice between them depends on the grammatical role the pronoun plays in the clause it introduces, not on whether it refers to a person or a thing.

What qui does

Qui is the subject of the verb that follows it. It performs the action in its own clause.

• La femme qui parle est ma sœur. – “The woman who is speaking is my sister.”
• Le livre qui est sur la table est à moi. – “The book that is on the table is mine.”
• Les enfants qui jouent dans le jardin sont bruyants. – “The children who are playing in the garden are noisy.”

In each example, qui is followed directly by a verb (parle, est, jouent). This is the clearest sign that qui is correct: nothing comes between qui and the verb.

Qui never drops its final vowel, even before a word starting with a vowel.

• L’homme qui arrive est mon père. – “The man who is arriving is my father.”

What que does

Que is the object of the verb that follows it. The subject of that verb appears right after que, before the verb itself.

• Le livre que je lis est intéressant. – “The book that I am reading is interesting.”
• La femme que tu connais habite à Paris. – “The woman whom you know lives in Paris.”
• Les films que nous avons vus étaient excellents. – “The films that we saw were excellent.”

Here the pattern is que + subject + verb. In the first example, je is the subject and lis is the verb, and the book is what is being read.

Que becomes qu’ before a word starting with a vowel or a silent h.

• Le gâteau qu’elle a préparé est délicieux. – “The cake that she prepared is delicious.”
• L’ami qu’il attend n’est pas encore arrivé. – “The friend he is waiting for has not arrived yet.”

How to choose between them

Look at what comes right after the pronoun.

• If a verb comes next, use qui. The pronoun is the subject of that verb.
• If a subject (a noun or pronoun such as je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles) comes next, use que. The pronoun is the object of the following verb.

A simple test: try removing the relative pronoun and its clause, then ask who or what is doing the action of the verb.

• L’homme qui parle – the man is doing the speaking, so qui.
• L’homme que je vois – I am doing the seeing, not the man, so que.

Whether the antecedent (the noun being replaced) is a person or a thing makes no difference to this choice. Both qui and que are used for people and for things alike.

• Le chien qui aboie – “The dog that is barking” (thing/animal, subject)
• L’homme qui aboie – “The man who is barking” (person, subject)
• Le chien que je promène – “The dog that I am walking” (thing/animal, object)
• L’homme que je connais – “The man whom I know” (person, object)

Translating qui and que into English

English has more relative pronouns than French, and the right choice depends on the antecedent.

For qui (subject):

• Person: “who” – La fille qui chante – “The girl who is singing”
• Thing: “which” or “that” – La chanson qui joue – “The song that is playing”

For que (object):

• Person: “whom” (formal) or “who”/”that” (everyday English) – L’homme que j’ai vu – “The man whom I saw” or “The man I saw”
• Thing: “which” or “that” – Le film que j’ai vu – “The film that I saw” or “The film I saw”

Two points about English are worth noting here.

First, English often drops the relative pronoun altogether when it is the object of the clause. “The man I saw” works just as well as “the man whom I saw.” French never allows this. Que cannot be omitted.

• Le livre que j’ai acheté – “The book that I bought” or “The book I bought” (never Le livre j’ai acheté)

Second, “that” in English can replace “who,” “whom,” or “which” in most everyday contexts, so it is often the safest default translation for both qui and que when the antecedent is not a formal or highly specific one.

Qui after a preposition

When a relative pronoun follows a preposition (à, de, avec, pour, chez, and so on) and refers to a person, French uses qui, not que. It translates to “whom.”

• La personne à qui je parle est mon collègue. – “The person to whom I am speaking is my colleague.”
• L’ami avec qui je voyage habite à Lyon. – “The friend with whom I travel lives in Lyon.”
• La femme pour qui il travaille est avocate. – “The woman for whom he works is a lawyer.”

When the antecedent is a thing rather than a person, qui is not used after a preposition. Lequel and its forms are used instead (see below).

Synonyms and alternative expressions

A few other relative pronouns cover cases that qui and que do not.

Dont replaces de qui, de que, or duquel when the verb or expression is followed by de and translates to “of which,” “of whom” or “whose.”

• Le livre dont je parle est excellent. – “The book I am talking about is excellent.” (from parler de) (literally “The book of which I speak is excellent”).
• La femme dont je connais le frère habite ici. – “The woman whose brother I know lives here.” (literally “The woman of whom I know the brother lives here”).

Où replaces qui or que when referring to a place or a time and translates to “where.”

• La ville où j’habite est petite. – “The city where I live is small.”
• Le jour où je suis né était un dimanche. – “The day I was born was a Sunday.”

Lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles are used after prepositions, mostly for things, and agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

• Le stylo avec lequel j’écris est cassé. – “The pen I am writing with is broken.”
• Les raisons pour lesquelles il est parti restent floues. – “The reasons why he left remain unclear.”

Ce qui and ce que are used when there is no specific antecedent, meaning “what” in English.

• Ce qui m’intéresse, c’est l’histoire. – “What interests me is history.” (ce qui as subject)
• Ce que tu dis est vrai. – “What you say is true.” (ce que as object)

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using que when the pronoun should be the subject: La femme que parle is wrong; it should be La femme qui parle.
• Forgetting that que cannot be dropped, unlike its English equivalent.
• Using que after a preposition instead of qui or lequel: L’ami avec que je voyage is wrong; it should be L’ami avec qui je voyage.
• Forgetting to elide que to qu’ before a vowel sound: que il is wrong; it should be qu’il.

Summary

• Qui is the subject of its clause and is followed directly by a verb.
• Que is the object of its clause and is followed by a subject, then a verb.
• Both are used for people and for things. The person/thing distinction does not decide the choice; grammatical role does.
• Que elides to qu’ before a vowel sound; qui never elides.
• After a preposition, use qui for people and lequel (and its forms) for things.
• Dont replaces constructions with de; où covers place and time; ce qui/ce que are used with no specific antecedent.

Exercise

Fill in the blank with qui or que (or qu’ where needed).

1. La fille ___ chante est ma cousine.
2. Le film ___ nous avons regardé était long.
3. L’homme ___ arrive est mon oncle.
4. Le gâteau ___ elle a fait sent bon.
5. Les amis ___ je vois demain habitent à Nice.
6. La voiture ___ est garée là-bas est neuve.
7. Le professeur ___ enseigne le français est patient.
8. Les fleurs ___ tu as achetées sont belles.
9. Le livre ___ elle lit est passionnant.
10. La chanson ___ passe à la radio est nouvelle.
11. Le chien ___ aboie appartient aux voisins.
12. Les plats ___ le chef prépare sont délicieux.

Answers

1. qui
2. que
3. qui
4. qu’
5. que
6. qui
7. qui
8. que
9. qu’
10. qui
11. qui
12. que