{"id":119800,"date":"2023-08-17T03:31:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T07:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-to-say-what-in-french\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T00:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T05:17:58","slug":"how-to-say-what-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/how-to-say-what-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Ways to Say “What” in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that there’s no exact translation of the English “what” into French?\u00a0<\/strong>In English, we use the word “what” to refer to a lot<\/em> of different information.\u00a0In French, on the other hand, “what” is more nuanced. It takes different forms to interrogate, describe, exclaim and move freely within a sentence.<\/p>\n

As French learners, once we understand that we still have more to learn about “what” even at more advanced levels<\/a>, everything changes.\u00a0So leave your anglophone “what” at the door (not translating in your head<\/a> will help you do that) and let’s learn how to say “what” in French.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Qu\u2019est-ce que\/qui<\/em> to Say “What Is…”<\/h2>\n

Qu’est-ce que<\/em> and Qu’est-ce qui<\/em> both begin with the words que<\/em> + est<\/em> + ce<\/em><\/strong>, literally meaning “What is that…?” which in English we’d say as, “What is…?” or simply “What…?”<\/p>\n

Deciding whether to follow Qu’est-ce<\/em> with que<\/em> or qui<\/em> depends on the type of information you’re asking about.<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce que<\/em> means you’re asking after the object of the sentence.<\/strong> You want to know “what” in the sentence is receiving the action of the verb. Take a look:<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce que vous voulez ? <\/em>(What do you want?)<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce que tu manges ?<\/em> (What are you eating?)<\/p>\n

So you’d answer, respectively, with something like, “I want a new bag” or “I’m eating cake,” where the information provided is the object of the sentence.<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce qui<\/em>\u00a0means you’re asking after the subject of the sentence.<\/strong> You want to know “what” is performing the verb, as in:<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? <\/em>(What’s happening?)<\/p>\n

Qu’est-ce qui te rend heureux ?<\/em> (What makes you happy?)<\/p>\n

In response to these questions, you could say, “The concert is about to start” or “Baking cookies makes me happy.” Here, your answers tell the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n

2. Que<\/em> as the Question Word “What?”<\/h2>\n

Que<\/em> can also stand on its own<\/strong>\u2014and thanks to inversion (e.g. swapping the pronoun and verb), we can see it in all its glory:<\/p>\n

Que fais-tu aujourd’hui ? <\/em>(What are you doing today?)<\/p>\n

Que veux-tu dire ?\u00a0<\/em>(What do you mean?)<\/p>\n

When used in this manner, que<\/em> will only appear as the first word in the sentence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Quel<\/em> as “What” for an Inquiry About a Noun<\/h2>\n

In English, it’s common to use “what” before a noun, as in, “What is your favorite film?”<\/p>\n

But in French, it’s technically “which,” as in, “Which<\/em> is your favorite film?”<\/p>\n

The French word for “which” is quel<\/em>.<\/strong> We understand this as “what” in English. Quel<\/em> changes form depending on whether the noun that follows is masculine or feminine and singular or plural.<\/p>\n