Qué or cuál? When “what” is cuál
Two words for “what”, and why the name question uses cuál
Both can come out as “what” or “which” in English. Qué asks what something is, and it is the word that goes straight before a noun. Cuál asks you to pick one: from options in view, or, after es or son, from all the possible answers.
That is why Spanish asks ¿Cuál es tu nombre? for “what is your name?”. You are not asking what a name is; you are asking which one is yours.
qué
Define it
- What something is or means
- Straight before a noun
- Exclamations: ¡Qué bonito!
¿Qué es la paella?What is paella?
cuál
Pick one
- From options in view
- After es or son: one answer of many
- cuáles for more than one
¿Cuál es tu nombre?What is your name?
On this page
What is the quick test for qué or cuál?
Are you asking someone to define what something is? That is qué. Are you asking them to pick one? That is cuál.
| qué | cuál | |
|---|---|---|
| The job | Asks what something is, or goes straight before a noun. | Asks you to pick one. |
| With es | ¿Qué es la paella?What is paella? | ¿Cuál es la capital de Perú?What is the capital of Peru? |
| On its own | ¿Qué quieres?What do you want? | ¿Cuál quieres?Which one do you want? |
Why is it “¿Cuál es tu nombre?” and not “¿Qué es tu nombre?”
¿Qué es tu nombre? asks what sort of thing a name is, as if you wanted a definition. Spanish asks ¿Cuál es tu nombre?: out of all the possible names, which one is yours? Or, just as often, ¿Cómo te llamas?, what are you called?
The same goes for anything with one right answer out of many: a phone number, an address, a favourite. ¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? What is your phone number?
When do you use qué?
- Straight before a noun. ¿Qué libro lees? What book are you reading? ¿De qué color es tu bicicleta? What colour is your bike? In much of Latin America cuál is also used here: ¿Cuál libro?, which book?
- To ask what something is or means. ¿Qué es esto? What is this? ¿Qué es un cenote? What is a cenote?
- To open an exclamation. ¡Qué bonito! How lovely! ¡Qué día tan largo! What a long day! Cuál does this only in a few rare set phrases.
- When there is nothing in view to pick from, and no es or son. ¿Qué quieres? What do you want?
When do you use cuál?
- To identify one specific thing, with es or son. ¿Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name? ¿Cuál es la capital de Perú? What is the capital of Peru?
- To pick from options in view. Hay dos caminos. ¿Cuál es más corto? There are two paths. Which is shorter? With a choice like ¿Cuál prefieres, el té o el café?, which do you prefer, tea or coffee?, qué is also correct.
For people, use quién: ¿Quién es tu profesor?, who is your teacher? Cuál is used for people only to pick one out of a group: ¿Cuál de ellos es tu profesor?, which of them is your teacher?
What about cuáles, cuál de, and questions inside sentences?
Cuáles, for more than one. When the answer could be more than one thing, cuál becomes cuáles: ¿Cuáles son tus planes?, what are your plans? Qué never changes, and cuál has no -a form. There is no “cuála”.
Cuál de, choosing from a group. ¿Cuál de las dos rutas es más rápida? Which of the two routes is quicker? ¿Cuáles de estas fotos prefieres? Which of these photos do you prefer?
A question inside a statement. Both keep their written accent. With nothing to pick from, it is qué: Dime qué necesitas, tell me what you need. With options in view, it is cuál: Hay tres opciones y no sé cuál elegir, there are three options and I do not know which one to choose.
Is there a checklist for qué or cuál?
Look at the words around the question word, in this order.
- Straight after ¡, with no verb in between: qué. ¡Qué calor hace! It is so hot!
- Straight before de and the group you pick from: cuál. ¿Cuál de estos libros te gustó más? Which of these books did you like most?
- Straight before a noun: qué. ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
- Es with esto, eso or lo: qué. ¿Qué es esto? What is this?
- Otherwise, the quick test. Defining is qué; picking, from options in view or from all the possible answers after es or son, is cuál.
How nemiria teaches this
Qué vs Cuál is a pair in nemiria’s Word Pairs topic. Learn sets out each rule with short examples, Test asks you to choose or type the right word, and Apply puts the pair in real sentences: you name the rule, spot the mistake, then write the sentence in Spanish. Foundation covers defining, identifying and picking; Intermediate adds exclamations, cuál de, cuáles and questions inside sentences.
How to practise the choice
Learn the everyday questions whole. ¿Cuál es tu nombre?, ¿Qué hora es?, ¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? You will use them so often that they are worth knowing as phrases.
Then ask yourself one question. Define, or pick? It is slower for a week or two, and then it stops being needed.
Read next
Qué vs Cuál is in nemiria’s Word Pairs topic at Foundation and Intermediate, and the Foundation level is free. Get it on the App Store.