AtaraxiaSpanish
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Book Lesson
Level A215 minutes

Qué vs. Cuál: Asking 'What' and 'Which' in Spanish

Master the tricky difference between asking questions with qué and cuál.

Learning ObjectiveCorrectly use qué for definitions/general choices and cuál for selecting from a specific group.

Qué vs. Cuál: Asking “What” and “Which”

Both qué and cuál can translate to “what” or “which” in English. This causes a lot of confusion for beginners.

However, they follow very specific logic in Spanish.

Qué: Definitions and Direct Nouns

1. Asking for a definition or explanation (What is it?) Use qué when you want someone to define something or explain what something means.

  • ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?)
  • ¿Qué significa esta palabra? (What does this word mean?)

2. Placed directly before a noun (What/Which [noun]?) If the question word is immediately followed by a noun, always use qué.

  • ¿Qué libro quieres? (What/Which book do you want?)
  • ¿Qué color prefieres? (What color do you prefer?)
  • (Never say “¿Cuál libro…?”)

Cuál: Selection and Information

1. Selecting from a group (Which one?) Use cuál (singular) or cuáles (plural) when there is a specific, known set of options, and you want someone to pick one.

  • Aquí hay dos libros. ¿Cuál quieres? (Here are two books. Which one do you want?)
  • ¿Cuáles son tus zapatos? (Which ones are your shoes?)

2. Asking for specific personal information (What is your…?) In English, we say “What is your name/number/address?” In Spanish, you are essentially asking “Which one (out of all the names/numbers in the world) is yours?” Therefore, you must use cuál when asking for this type of information with the verb ser.

  • ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What is your name?)
  • ¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? (What is your phone number?)
  • ¿Cuál es tu problema? (What is your problem?)

(If you asked “¿Qué es tu nombre?”, a Spanish speaker would hear “Can you give me the definition of a name?”)

The Golden Rule Summary

  • Qué + Noun (Qué libro)
  • Qué + Ser (Asking for a definition)
  • Cuál + Ser (Asking for information/selecting from options)

Practice: Qué or Cuál?

  1. ¿_______ es la capital de España? (What is the capital of Spain?)
  2. ¿_______ es la paella? (What is paella? - asking for a definition)
  3. ¿_______ película quieres ver? (What/which movie do you want to see?)
  4. Tengo té y café. ¿_______ prefieres? (I have tea and coffee. Which do you prefer?)

Answers

  1. Cuál (Asking for specific information with ser)
  2. Qué (Asking for a definition)
  3. Qué (Directly before a noun: película)
  4. Cuál (Selecting from a specific group of options)