How do you say what a in French?

With quel and no article: quel dommage, quelle chance, quels beaux yeux. The form agrees with the noun, and an adjective can slip in between, as in quelle bonne idée. There is nothing corresponding to the English a.

What's the difference between comme, que, and ce que in exclamations?

Only formality. All three introduce a clause and mean roughly how or so: que c'est beau is literary, comme c'est beau is neutral, and ce que c'est beau is conversational. Qu'est-ce que c'est beau is the most colloquial of the set.

How do I say how beautiful in French?

You cannot leave the adjective on its own, so add a verb: comme c'est beau, or que c'est beau. If you are describing a specific noun, quel works instead: quelle belle vue, what a beautiful view.

What does que de mean in an exclamation?

It exclaims about quantity, corresponding to what a lot of. Que de monde is what a crowd, que de bruit is what a racket, que de temps perdu is what a waste of time. The noun after de takes no article.

Why is there a space before the exclamation mark in French?

French typography puts a thin non-breaking space in front of the marks that stand tall: the exclamation mark, the question mark, the colon, and the semicolon. So you write Quelle chance ! and Tu viens ? with a gap that English would not have.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Exclamations: Quel, Comme, Que, and Ce Que

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French exclamations come in two shapes. Quel plus a noun covers the English what a, with no article in between: quelle surprise. Comme, que, ce que, and qu'est-ce que all introduce a complete clause and cover the English how or so: comme c'est beau, qu'est-ce que tu es drôle.

Qu'est-ce qu'il fait chaud aujourd'hui !

It's so hot today!

What it is

An exclamation puts your reaction in front of the thing you are reacting to. English does this with what a and with how, and French has a matching pair: quel for a noun and the comme family for a whole clause. Choosing between them is a matter of whether the thing you are exclaiming about is a noun or a statement.

Quelle belle maison ! Comme elle est belle, cette maison ! — What a beautiful house! How beautiful that house is!

How to spot it

Look at what comes next in English. If a noun follows, French uses quel. If a subject and verb follow, French uses comme, que, ce que, or qu'est-ce que.

Quelle chance ! — What luck! (noun follows)
Comme c'est gentil ! — How kind that is! (clause follows)
Ce que tu es drôle ! — You're so funny! (clause, familiar)
Que de monde ! — What a crowd! (a quantity)

French typography puts a space in front of the exclamation mark, so it is Quelle chance ! and not Quelle chance!

Exclamations Quick Reference

The exclamation frames and what each one takes

Frame	Followed by	Example	English
quel, quelle, quels, quelles	a noun	Quelle surprise !	What a surprise!
comme	a full clause	Comme c'est gentil !	How kind that is!
que	a full clause, literary	Que c'est joli !	How pretty it is!
ce que	a full clause, familiar	Ce que tu es drôle !	You're so funny!
qu'est-ce que	a full clause, very familiar	Qu'est-ce qu'il fait froid !	It's so cold!
que de	a noun, quantity	Que de bruit !	What a racket!
si, tellement	an adjective or adverb	C'est si beau !	It's so beautiful!

Common Exclamations Examples in French

Exclaiming in each of the available frames:

Quel Plus a Noun

Quel dommage !: What a shame!
Quelle bonne idée !: What a good idea!
Quels beaux enfants !: What beautiful children!
Quelle horreur !: How awful!

Quel agrees with the noun, and no un or une ever comes between the two.

Comme, Que, and Ce Que

Comme tu as grandi !: How you've grown!
Que c'est gentil de ta part !: How kind of you!
Ce que je suis fatigué !: I'm so tired!
Qu'est-ce que tu es pénible !: You're so annoying!

All four introduce a complete clause with its own subject and verb, and they differ only in how formal they sound.

Intensifying an Adjective

C'est si simple !: It's so simple!
Il est tellement gentil !: He's so kind!
Elle chante drôlement bien !: She sings remarkably well!
C'est vraiment trop cher !: It's really far too expensive!

Si and tellement go directly in front of the adjective, not at the start of the sentence.

Interjections

Oh là là !: Oh dear! / Wow!
Zut alors !: Damn!
Aïe !: Ouch!
Ça alors !: Well I never!

These carry no grammar at all and have to be learned as sounds attached to situations.

How French Exclamations Work

The two frames divide the work between nouns and clauses, and the rest is a question of register.

Quel Absorbs the English Article

What a surprise has three words in English and two in French, because quel already contains the whole idea. Adding un or une produces something French has no room for.

Quelle journée !

What a day!

quel + noun, nothing between.

Comme and Que Need a Subject and a Verb

These frames introduce a clause, so an adjective on its own will not do. Comme c'est beau works because c'est supplies the verb; comme beau is not a sentence.

Comme il fait beau ce matin !

What lovely weather this morning!

comme + clause, never bare adjective.

The Clause Frames Form a Register Ladder

Que is the most literary, comme is neutral and safe in writing, ce que is conversational, and qu'est-ce que is the most colloquial of the four. They are otherwise interchangeable.

Qu'est-ce que c'est bon !

This is so good!

que, comme, ce que, qu'est-ce que.

Que De Exclaims About a Quantity

Que followed by de and a bare noun means how much or how many of something there is. Que de monde is what a crowd, que de travail is what a lot of work.

Que de questions !

What a lot of questions!

que de + bare noun.

Si and Tellement Stay Next to the Adjective

Unlike the frames above, these are ordinary intensifiers and sit exactly where an English so would sit, immediately in front of the word they intensify.

Elle est tellement patiente avec eux !

She's so patient with them!

Adjective preceded by si or tellement.

Common Mistakes with Exclamations

Incorrect: Quelle une belle maison ! — What a beautiful house!

Correct: Quelle belle maison ! — What a beautiful house!

The a of what a is already inside quel. French has no slot for an article between quel and its noun, even when an adjective comes in between.

Incorrect: Comme beau ! — How beautiful!

Correct: Comme c'est beau ! — How beautiful!

Comme introduces a clause, so it needs a subject and a verb. C'est supplies both, which is why so many French exclamations begin comme c'est.

Incorrect: Quel beau ! — How beautiful!

Correct: Comme c'est beau ! — How beautiful!

Quel has to be followed by a noun, and beau is only an adjective. Exclaiming about a quality rather than a thing means switching to the comme frame.

Incorrect: Tellement c'est cher ! — It's so expensive!

Correct: C'est tellement cher ! — It's so expensive!

Tellement and si are not sentence openers. They belong immediately in front of the adjective they strengthen, inside the clause.

Interjections and Set Exclamations

A large part of exclaiming in French is knowing the noises, and none of them can be worked out from grammar.

General reactions

These respond to news, surprise, or mild annoyance, and their meaning depends heavily on tone.

Oh là là, quelle histoire !: Goodness, what a business!
Ça alors, je ne m'y attendais pas !: Well I never, I wasn't expecting that!
Mince, j'ai oublié !: Blast, I forgot!
Bof, ça m'est égal.: Meh, I don't mind either way.

Oh là là is not only admiring; with a falling tone it expresses dismay just as often.

Physical reactions

French has a distinct sound for pain, relief, disgust, and demanding silence, and none matches its English equivalent.

Aïe, ça fait mal !: Ouch, that hurts!
Ouf, on a eu de la chance !: Phew, we were lucky!
Beurk, c'est dégoûtant !: Yuck, that's disgusting!
Chut, il dort !: Shh, he's asleep!

Aïe is two syllables, roughly like the English word eye followed by a light y sound.

One-word verdicts

A bare adjective or noun with an exclamation mark is a complete reaction, and this is extremely common in speech.

Génial !: Brilliant!
Dommage !: Shame!
Impeccable !: Perfect!
N'importe quoi !: That's ridiculous!

These need no verb, which makes them the easiest exclamations to start using straight away.

Exclamations FAQs

How do you say what a in French?: With quel and no article: quel dommage, quelle chance, quels beaux yeux. The form agrees with the noun, and an adjective can slip in between, as in quelle bonne idée. There is nothing corresponding to the English a.
What's the difference between comme, que, and ce que in exclamations?: Only formality. All three introduce a clause and mean roughly how or so: que c'est beau is literary, comme c'est beau is neutral, and ce que c'est beau is conversational. Qu'est-ce que c'est beau is the most colloquial of the set.
How do I say how beautiful in French?: You cannot leave the adjective on its own, so add a verb: comme c'est beau, or que c'est beau. If you are describing a specific noun, quel works instead: quelle belle vue, what a beautiful view.
What does que de mean in an exclamation?: It exclaims about quantity, corresponding to what a lot of. Que de monde is what a crowd, que de bruit is what a racket, que de temps perdu is what a waste of time. The noun after de takes no article.
Why is there a space before the exclamation mark in French?: French typography puts a thin non-breaking space in front of the marks that stand tall: the exclamation mark, the question mark, the colon, and the semicolon. So you write Quelle chance ! and Tu viens ? with a gap that English would not have.