{"id":142869,"date":"2023-12-23T20:59:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-24T01:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/what-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T15:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T20:36:11","slug":"what-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/what-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Say “What” in Spanish (With Example Sentences)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowing how to say “what” is an essential part of any Spanish learner’s arsenal.<\/p>\n

In Spanish, there are multiple ways to say “what,” such as: qu\u00e9<\/em>, c\u00f3mo, <\/em>lo que<\/em> and cu\u00e1l<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In this post, you’ll learn five ways to say “what” in Spanish <\/strong>and see how they are used in context with the help of example\u00a0sentences.<\/p>\n

For a fun twist, the example sentences all feature a well-loved topic: Food<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

1. Qu\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>(as a pronoun<\/a>)<\/h2>\n

“What” can be translated as two different versions of the word\u00a0qu\u00e9:<\/em> one as\u00a0a pronoun and one as an adjective.<\/p>\n

When qu\u00e9 <\/em>is followed by a verb, it functions as a pronoun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an interrogative pronoun, qu\u00e9 <\/em>will always have an accent mark whatever its position in the sentence is. However, you’ll normally find it at the beginning:<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> quiere comer tu novio?
\n<\/em>(What does your boyfriend want to eat?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> necesitas para preparar la pizza?
\n<\/em>(What do you need to prepare the pizza?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> has desayunado hoy?
\n<\/em>(What have you eaten for breakfast today?)<\/p>\n

Even though the last three examples were all direct questions, this will not always be the case. Qu\u00e9 <\/em>can also appear as an interrogative pronoun in indirect questions<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Necesito saber qu\u00e9<\/strong> vas a comer.
\n<\/em>(I need to know what you’re going to eat.)<\/p>\n

Dime qu\u00e9<\/strong> pediste en el restaurante.
\n<\/em>(Tell me what you ordered at the restaurant.)<\/p>\n

No s\u00e9 qu\u00e9<\/strong> puedo a\u00f1adirle al batido.
\n<\/em>(I don’t know what I can add to the milkshake.)<\/p>\n

Finally, you’ll also find the interrogative pronoun qu\u00e9 <\/em>in reported speech<\/a> sentences. Although there are lots of reporting verbs, the most frequently used in front of qu\u00e9 <\/em>are preguntar\u00a0<\/em>(to ask), preguntarse\u00a0<\/em>(to wonder), querer saber\u00a0<\/em>(to want to know) and necesitar saber\u00a0<\/em>(to need to know):<\/p>\n

Me pregunt\u00f3<\/strong> qu\u00e9<\/strong> estaba comiendo.
\n<\/em>(He asked me what I was eating.)<\/p>\n

Se preguntaba<\/strong> qu\u00e9<\/strong> pod\u00eda usar en lugar de az\u00facar.
\n<\/em>(She wondered what she could use instead of sugar.)<\/p>\n

Mi madre quer\u00eda saber<\/strong> qu\u00e9<\/strong> hab\u00eda cenado.
\n<\/em>(My mom wanted to know what I had for dinner.)<\/p>\n

Necesitaba saber<\/strong> qu\u00e9<\/strong> iba a cocinar.
\n<\/em>(She needed to know what I was going to cook.)<\/p>\n

To learn all the uses of que<\/em> in Spanish, I recommend watching this video:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

2. Qu\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>(as an adjective<\/a>)<\/h2>\n

The second meaning of “what” in Spanish (qu\u00e9)<\/em> may seem like it’s slightly different from the first one.<\/p>\n

This time, qu\u00e9 <\/em>functions as an adjective in the sentence. For that reason, it will not be followed by a verb, but by a noun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re not really into learning grammar<\/a> and just need to learn conversational Spanish, you can ignore this fact and just remember that “what” is translated as qu\u00e9 <\/em>most of the time, but I do believe it’s a good thing to know these little interesting facts about the language you’re studying.<\/p>\n

Whatever your situation may be, just know that qu\u00e9 <\/em>can also be followed by nouns:<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> fruta es tu favorita?
\n<\/em>(What’s your favorite fruit?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> desayuno es ese?
\n<\/em>(What kind of breakfast is that?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> sopa es mejor para el dolor de est\u00f3mago?
\n<\/em>(What soup is the best for a stomachache?)<\/p>\n

As with the previous qu\u00e9,<\/em> adjectival qu\u00e9 <\/em>can also appear in indirect questions and indirect speech:<\/p>\n

Necesitamos saber qu\u00e9<\/strong> fruta es tu favorita.
\n<\/em>(We need to know what your favorite fruit is.)<\/p>\n

Me pregunt\u00f3 qu\u00e9<\/strong> desayuno era ese.
\n<\/em>(She asked me what kind of breakfast it was.)<\/p>\n

No sab\u00eda qu\u00e9<\/strong> sopa era la mejor para el dolor de est\u00f3mago.
\n<\/em>(He didn’t know what the best soup for a stomachache was.)<\/p>\n

Finally, you can also find the adjectival qu\u00e9 <\/em>as an exclamatory adjective.<\/strong> Remember to add the opening exclamation mark<\/a> (\u00a1)<\/em> every time you use the closing one:<\/p>\n

\u00a1Qu\u00e9<\/strong> alegr\u00eda comer pizza!
\n<\/em>(I’m so happy to eat pizza! [Lit.: What happiness to eat pizza!])<\/p>\n

\u00a1Qu\u00e9<\/strong> cosas tan deliciosas cocinas!
\n<\/em>(You cook such delicious food! [Lit.: What things so delicious you cook!])<\/p>\n

\u00a1Qu\u00e9<\/strong> tomate m\u00e1s delicioso!
\n<\/em>(What a delicious tomato! [Lit.: What tomato more\/so delicious!])<\/p>\n

3. C\u00f3mo<\/em><\/h2>\n

C\u00f3mo <\/em>means “what”\u00a0only in very specific situations, so pay attention now.<\/p>\n

Use c\u00f3mo <\/em>with the meaning of “what” when<\/strong> you’re expressing your incredulity and\/or annoyance<\/strong> for what has happened or what someone has said.<\/p>\n

\u00a1C\u00f3mo!<\/strong> \u00a1Eso no puede ser verdad! \u00a1\u00c9l no sabe cocinar!
\n<\/em>(What! That can’t be true! He doesn’t know how to cook!)<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo?<\/strong> \u00a1No me lo puedo creer! \u00bfAna ha hecho el pastel?
\n<\/em>(What? I can’t believe it! Ana has made the cake?)<\/p>\n

In every other case,\u00a0c\u00f3mo\u00a0<\/em>will mean “how.” Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo<\/strong> se usan los palillos?
\n<\/em>(How are chopsticks used?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo<\/strong> cocinaste el pollo?
\n<\/em>(How did you cook the chicken?)<\/p>\n

4. Lo que<\/em><\/h2>\n

If we translate lo que <\/em>literally, its meaning would be “that which.”<\/p>\n

However, this makes the\u00a0English translation sound a little bit awkward:<\/p>\n

Lo que<\/strong> m\u00e1s me gusta es comer pasta.
\n<\/em>(That which<\/strong> I like the most is eating pasta.)<\/p>\n

No s\u00e9 lo que<\/strong> vamos a almorzar.
\n<\/em>(I don’t know that which<\/strong> we will have for lunch.)<\/p>\n

Come lo que<\/strong> quieras.
\n<\/em>(Eat that which<\/strong> you want.)<\/p>\n

But if we substitute “that which” for “what”\u00a0<\/em>in these sentences, they sound much more natural. Have a look:<\/p>\n

Lo que<\/strong> m\u00e1s me gusta es comer pasta.
\n<\/em>(What<\/strong> I like the most is eating pasta.)<\/p>\n

No s\u00e9 lo que<\/strong> vamos a almorzar.
\n<\/em>(I don’t know what<\/strong> we’ll have for lunch.)<\/p>\n

Come lo que<\/strong> quieras.
\n<\/em>(Eat what<\/strong> you want.)<\/p>\n

From this, we can conclude that\u00a0lo que<\/em> is better translated as\u00a0“what.”<\/p>\n

Have a look at the examples again and you’ll notice this que <\/em>does not have an accent mark<\/a>.<\/strong> It’s very important that you remember this. Lo qu\u00e9 <\/em>is a vulgarism used instead of the interrogative pronoun qu\u00e9,<\/em> and you should definitely avoid it like the plague.<\/p>\n

5. Cu\u00e1l<\/em><\/h2>\n

The last meaning of “what” in Spanish is cu\u00e1l,<\/em> which is also an interrogative word that can be a pronoun or an adjective depending on whether it’s followed by a verb or a noun.<\/p>\n

You may be wondering then, what is the difference between using qu\u00e9 <\/em>and cu\u00e1l<\/em>?<\/strong> And the answer is simple.<\/p>\n

Use cu\u00e1l <\/em>when you have to make a choice between two or three things.<\/strong> There can be more than three, but the number will normally be small and limited\/defined. Most of the time, you can substitute “what” for “which” and the meaning will be unchanged:<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l<\/strong> vino prefieres?
\n<\/em>(What wine [of the ones I’m showing you] do you prefer?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l<\/strong> pastel te gusta m\u00e1s?
\n<\/em>(What cake [of the ones you’re eating] do you like the most?)<\/p>\n

On the other hand, opt for qu\u00e9 <\/em>when the choice is not limited to a few specific items, but to a whole category.<\/strong> You’ll understand this better with a couple of examples:<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> vino prefieres?
\n<\/em>(What wine [of all the wines in the wine category existing in the world] do you prefer?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9<\/strong> pastel te gusta m\u00e1s?
\n<\/em>(What cake [of all the cakes in the cake category existing in the world] do you like the most?)<\/p>\n

These rules of thumb should help you remember when to use qu\u00e9 <\/em>and cu\u00e1l<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One more thing: You should also use cu\u00e1l<\/em> when using “what” as a pronoun\u2014that is, when using it in front of a verb instead of a noun (usually the verb ser <\/em>[to be]):<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l<\/strong> es tu comida favorita?
\n<\/em>(What is your favorite food?)<\/p>\n

No s\u00e9 cu\u00e1l<\/strong> es mi verdura favorita. \u00a1Me gustan todas las verduras!
\n<\/em>(I don’t know what my favorite vegetable is. I like all vegetables!)<\/p>\n

How to Practice Saying “What” in Spanish<\/h2>\n

Learning the meaning of “what” in Spanish is an easy task even beginner learners can do. I hope this post has been useful and you’re ready to rock your Spanish qu\u00e9 <\/em>like there’s no tomorrow.<\/p>\n

If you want to see more examples of these terms in use and even learn how to ask your own questions in Spanish, there are lots of apps<\/a> and resources out there that can help you.<\/p>\n

For example, you can practice using qu\u00e9 <\/em>and cu\u00e1l<\/em> on 123TeachMe<\/a> with this qu\u00e9<\/em> vs. cu\u00e1l<\/em> quiz<\/a>, as well as this quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You could also try using an immersive language learning program like FluentU<\/a> to spot all the different ways that native speakers use “what” in Spanish media clips.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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