The English word “what” can be translated into French in several ways, depending on the context. The most common translations are quel, quelle, qu’est-ce que, que, ce que, ce qui and quoi.

Interrogative expressions with “quel” and “quelle”

“Quel” (masculine) and “quelle” (feminine) are used when “what” functions as an adjective modifying a noun. Here, “what?” can also mean “which?” These interrogative adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Singular examples:

• Quel jour sommes-nous ? (What day is it?)
• Quelle couleur préfères-tu ? (What color do you prefer?)
• Quel film as-tu vu ? (What movie did you see?)
• Quelle est ta profession ? (What is your profession?)

Plural examples:

• Quels livres lis-tu ? (What books are you reading?)
• Quelles langues parles-tu ? (What languages do you speak?)
• Quels sont tes hobbies ? (What are your hobbies?)
• Quelles chansons aimes-tu ? (What songs do you like?)
• Quels films recommandes-tu ? (What movies do you recommend?)
• Quelles sont tes disponibilités ? (What are your availabilities?)

Direct questions with “qu’est-ce que”

“Qu’est-ce que” is used in direct questions where “what” is the object of the sentence. It is neutral and does not change for gender or number. It is an interrogative pronoun, grammatically speaking.

• Qu’est-ce que tu veux ? (What do you want?)
• Qu’est-ce que c’est ? (What is it?)
• Qu’est-ce que vous avez dit ? (What did you say?)
• Qu’est-ce que tu manges ? (What are you eating?)
• Qu’est-ce qu’ils ont décidé ? (What did they decide?)
• Qu’est-ce que cela signifie ? (What does that mean?)

Using “que” in questions

“Que” is a shorter, more formal alternative to “qu’est-ce que” and is used in inversion questions. It is an interrogative adverb.

• Que préfères-tu ? (What do you prefer?)
• Que cherche-t-il ? (What is he looking for?)
• Que dois-je faire ? (What should I do?)

Indirect statements with “ce que”

“Ce que” is used when “what” functions as the object of a relative clause. It is a relative pronoun.

• Ce que je veux, c’est voyager. (What I want is to travel.)
• Ce qu’il a dit m’a surpris. (What he said surprised me.)
• Je ne comprends pas ce que tu fais. (I don’t understand what you’re doing.)
• Ce que je sais, c’est important. (What I know is important.)
• Dis-moi ce que tu penses. (Tell me what you think.)
• Je ferai ce que je peux. (I’ll do what I can.)

Indirect statements with “ce qui”

“Ce qui” is used when “what” functions as the subject of a relative clause. It is another relative pronoun.

• Ce qui m’intéresse, c’est la science. (What interests me is science.)
• Ce qui est étrange, c’est son silence. (What is strange is her silence.)
• Ce qui me fait réfléchir, c’est cette question. (What makes me reflect is this question.)
• Ce qui compte, c’est l’effort. (What matters is the effort.)
• Ce qui m’étonne, c’est son attitude. (What surprises me is his attitude.)
• Ce qui est fascinant, c’est sa diversité. (What’s fascinating is its diversity.)

Other expressions

In some cases, “what” can be translated as quoi, especially in informal speech or fixed expressions. It is an interrogative pronoun.

• Tu fais quoi ? (What are you doing?)
• À quoi penses-tu ? (What are you thinking about?)
• C’est quoi, ce bruit ? (What’s that noise?)
• Tu veux quoi ? (What do you want?)
• À quoi sert cet outil ? (What is this tool for?)