French Question Words: The Complete Guide

Key takeaways

• French has a core set of question words (qui, que, quoi, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien) that each work differently depending on register. The same question can take three different forms depending on how formal the situation is.
• Qui always refers to people; que and quoi both mean what but appear in different positions. Que comes before the verb in formal and standard questions; quoi takes the end position in informal speech and follows prepositions.
• Quel/quelle/quels/quelles is an adjective and must agree with the noun it modifies. Lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles is a pronoun that replaces the noun and contracts with à and de.
• In everyday spoken French, question words frequently appear at the end of the sentence rather than the beginning: Tu vas où? instead of Où vas-tu? Both are grammatically correct; the choice signals register.

French question words are the building blocks of every conversation you will initiate in French. Without them, you cannot ask for directions, clarify what someone said, or find out basic information. The problem for most learners is not memorizing the words themselves.

It is that each word has multiple uses, and the same question can be constructed three or four ways depending on the rules of question formation in French and register. Getting this wrong does not always block communication, but it marks your level immediately.

italki connects you with French teachers who run question-and-answer sessions across all registers, catching the formation errors you do not notice in your own speech until a native speaker reacts with confusion.

This guide covers 10 core French question words: their meanings, formal versus informal uses, and the most common errors to avoid. Each section includes examples across registers so you can see exactly how the same question shifts in different contexts.

A French language tutor can build sessions around question formation, giving you real-time feedback on which register a situation calls for and where your formation breaks down under conversational pressure.

Qui (who)

Qui refers exclusively to people. It does not change form and can function as subject or object.

As subject:

• Qui parle?, Who is speaking? (formal)
• C’est qui?, Who is it? (informal)

As object:

• Qui est-ce que tu attends?, Who are you waiting for? (standard)
• T’attends qui?, Who are you waiting for? (informal)

After a preposition:

• À qui parles-tu?, Who are you talking to? (formal)
• Tu parles à qui?, Who are you talking to? (informal)

After a preposition, qui always refers to people. For things after a preposition, use quoi: Tu penses à quoi? (What are you thinking about?)

Que and quoi (what)

Both translate as what but appear in different positions.

Que before the verb:

• Que fais-tu?, What are you doing? (formal)
• Qu’est-ce que tu fais?, What are you doing? (standard)

Que contracts to qu’ before a vowel.

Quoi at the end or after a preposition:

• Tu fais quoi?, What are you doing? (informal)
• De quoi parles-tu?, What are you talking about?
• Tu penses à quoi?, What are you thinking about?

Que cannot move to the end of a sentence. In informal end-position questions, always use quoi, not que. Tu veux quoi? is correct; Tu veux que? is not.

Où (where)

Où asks about location or direction and is consistent across registers, only the sentence structure changes.

Question	Register	Meaning
Où allez-vous?	Formal	Where are you going?
Où est-ce que tu vas?	Standard	Where are you going?
Tu vas où?	Informal	Where are you going?
D’où venez-vous?	Formal	Where are you from?
T’es d’où?	Informal	Where are you from?

Où vs. là où: Où is the interrogative (where?). Là où is the relative (where as in the place where): Je vais là où tu vas (I go where you go).

Quand (when)

Quand is the same across all registers.

Question	Register
Quand arrivez-vous?	Formal
Quand est-ce qu’il arrive?	Standard
Il arrive quand?	Informal

Depuis quand vs. jusqu’à quand:

• Depuis quand?, Since when? / How long have you…?
• Jusqu’à quand?, Until when?

Depuis quand travailles-tu ici? (How long have you been working here?) uses present tense in French where English uses a past tense, a common source of errors for English speakers.

Pourquoi (why)

Pourquoi is placed at the beginning of the question in all registers except the most informal speech, where it can move to the end.

• Pourquoi est-ce que tu pleures?, Why are you crying? (standard)
• Pourquoi pleures-tu?, Why are you crying? (formal)
• Tu pleures pourquoi?, Why are you crying? (very informal)

Answering pourquoi: The standard response uses parce que (because), which contracts to parce qu’ before a vowel. Car is a formal written alternative. In everyday speech, parce que covers all situations.

Comment (how)

Comment asks about manner or method and appears in greetings and name questions.

Question	Register	Meaning
Comment vous appelez-vous?	Formal	What is your name?
Comment tu t’appelles?	Standard	What is your name?
Tu t’appelles comment?	Informal	What is your name?
Comment allez-vous?	Formal	How are you?
Ça va?	Informal	How are you?

Comment? alone politely asks for repetition. Quoi? is the informal equivalent, considered more abrupt.

A private French tutor can drill the comment and comment vous appelez-vous forms in natural exchanges so the formal and informal versions both become automatic responses.

Combien (how much / how many)

Combien covers both countable and uncountable quantities. Context determines the interpretation.

• Combien coûte ce livre?, How much does this book cost?
• Combien de livres as-tu?, How many books do you have?

Combien de + noun: When combien is followed by a noun, de is required with no article: Combien de temps? (How much time?), not Combien du temps.

• Combien de fois par semaine?, How many times a week?
• Combien de personnes sont venues?, How many people came?

For how French question words interact with adjective agreement in quel and lequel forms, the guide to French adjectives covers the gender and number rules that affect question formation.

Quel / quelle / quels / quelles (which, what)

Quel is an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

Form	Used with
quel	masculine singular
quelle	feminine singular
quels	masculine plural
quelles	feminine plural

• Quel film regardes-tu?, What film are you watching?
• Quelle heure est-il?, What time is it?
• Quels livres lis-tu?, What books are you reading?
• Quelles chansons préfères-tu?, Which songs do you prefer?

Lequel / laquelle / lesquels / lesquelles (which one)

Lequel and its forms are pronouns used when choosing between known options. They replace quel + noun.

Form	Used for
lequel	masculine singular
laquelle	feminine singular
lesquels	masculine plural
lesquelles	feminine plural

• J’ai deux billets. Lequel veux-tu?, I have two tickets. Which one do you want?
• Ces robes sont jolies. Laquelle préfères-tu?, These dresses are pretty. Which one do you prefer?

Contractions: à + lequel – auquel; à + lesquels/lesquelles – auxquels/auxquelles; de + lequel – duquel; de + lesquels/lesquelles – desquels/desquelles.

Register: three ways to form the same question

French has three standard question structures for most question words:

Structure	Example	Register
Inversion: question word + verb + subject	Où vas-tu?	Formal
Est-ce que: question word + est-ce que + subject + verb	Où est-ce que tu vas?	Standard
End position: subject + verb + question word	Tu vas où?	Informal spoken

In everyday spoken French, the end-position structure is extremely common. Recognizing when each is appropriate is a key intermediate fluency marker.

For how question words interact with French negation, particularly ne…pas in negative questions, the guide to French negation rules covers the patterns that shift when a question becomes negative.

Most common errors with French question words

Using que in end position: Tu veux que? is wrong. In informal end-position questions, use quoi: Tu veux quoi?

Forgetting de with combien: Combien livres as-tu? is wrong. The correct form is Combien de livres as-tu?

Using quel without agreement: Quel heure est-il? is wrong because heure is feminine. The correct form is Quelle heure est-il?

Using qui for things: Qui est-ce que tu veux? is correct only when asking about a person. For objects, use que: Qu’est-ce que tu veux?

An online French tutor catches these errors in real-time conversation, which is the only way to build correct formation as an instinct rather than a rule you stop to calculate.

Practice question formation with a teacher

Knowing question words on a list is not the same as producing them correctly under the pressure of a real conversation, choosing the right register, and catching your own formation errors in real time.

More than 10 million learners have used italki to find French teachers who run structured question-and-answer sessions targeting exactly this kind of register flexibility. Book a trial lesson and spend the session forming questions across all three registers, with your teacher pointing out every placement error as it happens.

FAQ

What is the difference between que and quoi?

Both mean what, but they appear in different positions. Que comes before a verb in formal and standard questions: Que fais-tu? In informal spoken French, quoi takes the end position: Tu fais quoi? and also follows prepositions: À quoi penses-tu? Never use que in end position, use quoi instead.

Can French question words go at the end of the sentence?

Yes, in informal spoken French. This is one of the three standard question structures. Tu vas où? and Il arrive quand? are natural in everyday speech. The register and context determine which structure is appropriate.

What is the difference between quel and lequel?

Quel is an adjective that modifies a noun: Quel film? (Which film?). Lequel is a pronoun that replaces the noun: Lequel préfères-tu? (Which one do you prefer?). Both agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.

Is depuis quand different from combien de temps?

Yes. Depuis quand? asks for the starting point: Depuis quand habites-tu ici? (Since when have you lived here?). Depuis combien de temps? asks for the duration: Depuis combien de temps habites-tu ici? (How long have you lived here?). Both use present tense in French, not the past tense that English would use.

How do you politely ask someone to repeat in French?

Use Comment? or Pardon? for polite repetition. Quoi? works but is more abrupt. Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît? (Can you repeat, please?) is the most explicit and polite option.