What are the French interrogative pronouns?

Qui for people in any position, que and quoi for things, the long forms qui est-ce qui, qui est-ce que, qu'est-ce qui and qu'est-ce que, and lequel with its agreeing forms for choosing from a known group.

What is the difference between que and qu'est-ce que?

They ask the same thing. Que requires inversion (que fais-tu ?) and sounds more formal or literary; qu'est-ce que leaves the word order untouched (qu'est-ce que tu fais ?) and dominates in speech. Both mean what as the object of the verb.

When do I use quoi instead of que?

After a preposition (de quoi, à quoi, sur quoi), at the end of a spoken question (tu veux quoi ?), and standing alone (Quoi ?). Que is a weak form that needs a verb straight after it, so anywhere else quoi takes over.

How do you ask what happened in French?

Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ? The answer is the subject of the verb and it is a thing, and that combination has only one form. Que s'est-il passé ? exists in formal writing but is rare in conversation.

Is it qui or lequel for people?

Qui when you are asking about an unknown person: qui a appelé ? Lequel when you are choosing between people already identified: lequel de tes cousins vient ? The same logic applies with à qui versus auquel.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Interrogative Pronouns: Qui, Que, Quoi and Qu'est-ce Qui

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

French interrogative pronouns ask who and what. The system is organised around two questions: is the answer a person or a thing, and is it the subject or the object of the verb. That gives you qui, que, quoi and the long forms qu'est-ce qui and qu'est-ce que, plus lequel when you are choosing from a known set.

Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé hier soir ?

What happened last night?

What it is

English asks who and what with two words that never change. French asks with a small grid: the person forms are built on qui, the thing forms on que and quoi, and each has a short version that requires inversion and a long version that does not. Once you see it as a grid rather than a list, it stops looking arbitrary.

Qui a téléphoné ? Qu'est-ce qu'il voulait ? — Who called? What did he want?

How to spot it

Decide two things before you open your mouth: person or thing, and subject or object. Person gives qui in every slot. Thing gives qu'est-ce qui as a subject and que or qu'est-ce que as an object.

Qui vient ce soir ? — Who's coming tonight? (person, subject)
Qui as-tu invité ? — Who did you invite? (person, object)
Qu'est-ce qui te fait rire ? — What's making you laugh? (thing, subject)
Que veux-tu boire ? — What do you want to drink? (thing, object)

There is no short form for a thing as subject. Qu'est-ce qui is the only option, which is why it turns up so often.

Interrogative Pronouns Quick Reference

The interrogative pronoun grid

Role	People	Things
Subject (short)	Qui parle ?	— (no short form)
Subject (long)	Qui est-ce qui parle ?	Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?
Object (short)	Qui vois-tu ?	Que vois-tu ?
Object (long)	Qui est-ce que tu vois ?	Qu'est-ce que tu vois ?
After a preposition	À qui parles-tu ?	À quoi penses-tu ?
Choosing from a set	Lequel de tes frères ?	Laquelle préfères-tu ?

Common Interrogative Pronouns Examples in French

Each cell of the grid in ordinary questions:

Asking About People

Qui a laissé la porte ouverte ?: Who left the door open?
Qui cherchez-vous ?: Who are you looking for?
Qui est-ce que tu as croisé ?: Who did you run into?
Avec qui pars-tu en vacances ?: Who are you going on holiday with?

Qui covers every position for a person: subject, object and after a preposition. It never changes and never elides.

Asking About Things

Qu'est-ce qui sent si bon ?: What smells so good?
Que fais-tu ce week-end ?: What are you doing this weekend?
Qu'est-ce que tu en penses ?: What do you think of it?
Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?: What's the matter?

Que requires inversion of the subject and verb; qu'est-ce que does not, which is why it dominates in speech.

Quoi After a Preposition

De quoi as-tu besoin ?: What do you need?
À quoi ça sert ?: What's the point of that?
Sur quoi travaillez-vous ?: What are you working on?
Avec quoi as-tu ouvert la boîte ?: What did you open the box with?

Que becomes quoi as soon as a preposition is involved. The preposition stays at the front of the question, never at the end.

Lequel for a Known Set

Lequel de ces deux films as-tu vu ?: Which of these two films have you seen?
J'hésite entre les deux robes. Laquelle me va mieux ?: I can't choose between the two dresses. Which suits me better?
Auquel de ces problèmes penses-tu ?: Which of these problems are you thinking of?
Lesquelles voulez-vous garder ?: Which ones do you want to keep?

Lequel agrees with the noun it stands for and contracts with à and de: auquel, duquel, auxquelles.

How French Interrogative Pronouns Are Built

The long forms are not padding: they are a second, inversion-free way of asking the same question.

The Long Forms Are Two Halves

Qu'est-ce qui breaks down as que + est-ce + qui. The first half tells you person or thing, the second half tells you subject or object. Once you can read the second half, the whole system becomes predictable: qui at the end means the answer is the subject, que means it is the object.

Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ?

What are you looking for?

Second half qui → subject, que → object.

Short Forms Force Inversion

Que and qui as objects require the subject and verb to swap places: que veux-tu, qui as-tu vu. The long forms leave normal word order alone, which is why speech prefers them and writing keeps the short ones.

Que dit-il ? — Qu'est-ce qu'il dit ?

What's he saying? (formal — informal)

Short = inversion, long = normal order.

Que Becomes Quoi Under Pressure

Que is a weak form that cannot survive on its own. After a preposition, at the end of a sentence, or standing alone as a whole question, it turns into quoi: de quoi, tu fais quoi, quoi ?

Tu penses à quoi ?

What are you thinking about?

Anywhere que cannot stand, quoi appears.

Qui Is Never Marked for Number

Qui takes a singular verb by default even when you expect several people: qui vient ce soir ? asks about any number of guests. Agreement only appears if the answer is spelled out in the question.

Qui veut du dessert ?

Who wants dessert?

qui + singular verb, whatever the answer.

Lequel Replaces a Noun, Quel Modifies One

Lequel is a pronoun and stands alone: laquelle préfères-tu ? Quel is an adjective and needs its noun: quelle robe préfères-tu ? Both agree, but only one of them can be used without a noun in sight.

Quel livre ? — Lequel ?

Which book? — Which one?

quel + noun, lequel alone.

Common Mistakes with Interrogative Pronouns

Incorrect: Que se passe ? — What's happening?

Correct: Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? — What's happening?

There is no short form for a thing acting as subject. Que can only be an object, so a subject question about a thing always needs qu'est-ce qui.

Incorrect: Tu penses à que ? — What are you thinking about?

Correct: À quoi penses-tu ? — What are you thinking about?

Que cannot follow a preposition or end a question. In both positions it is replaced by quoi, and careful French moves the preposition to the front.

Incorrect: Je me demande qu'est-ce que tu veux. — I wonder what you want.

Correct: Je me demande ce que tu veux. — I wonder what you want.

Est-ce que belongs to direct questions only. Once the question is embedded in another clause, it becomes ce que, or ce qui if the answer is the subject.

Incorrect: Quel de ces deux préfères-tu ? — Which of these two do you prefer?

Correct: Lequel de ces deux préfères-tu ? — Which of these two do you prefer?

Quel needs a noun immediately after it. With no noun present, the pronoun lequel takes over, agreeing with whatever it stands for.

Quoi, and the Questions People Actually Ask

Spoken French reorganises these questions quite freely, and quoi is at the centre of it.

Quoi at the end, in speech

Casual French keeps normal word order and puts the question word last. The thing form then has to be quoi, because que cannot end a sentence.

Tu fais quoi demain ?: What are you doing tomorrow?
Il a dit quoi ?: What did he say?
C'est quoi, ce bruit ?: What's that noise?

This is standard conversational French, not an error, but it is out of place in formal writing.

Qu'est-ce que c'est que … ?

To ask what something is when you want an explanation rather than a name, French stacks the pattern: qu'est-ce que c'est que, followed by the thing.

Qu'est-ce que c'est ?: What is it?
Qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire ?: What's all this about?
Qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un pronom tonique ?: What is a stressed pronoun?

The doubled que looks redundant but is fixed: the second one introduces the thing being defined.

Interrogative pronouns in indirect questions

When the question is embedded inside another sentence, the est-ce que machinery disappears. Que becomes ce que, and qu'est-ce qui becomes ce qui.

Je me demande ce qu'il veut.: I wonder what he wants.
Dis-moi ce qui te dérange.: Tell me what's bothering you.
Elle ne sait pas à qui s'adresser.: She doesn't know who to ask.

Writing je me demande qu'est-ce qu'il veut is a very common learner error; the embedded form is ce qu'il veut.

Interrogative Pronouns FAQs

What are the French interrogative pronouns?: Qui for people in any position, que and quoi for things, the long forms qui est-ce qui, qui est-ce que, qu'est-ce qui and qu'est-ce que, and lequel with its agreeing forms for choosing from a known group.
What is the difference between que and qu'est-ce que?: They ask the same thing. Que requires inversion (que fais-tu ?) and sounds more formal or literary; qu'est-ce que leaves the word order untouched (qu'est-ce que tu fais ?) and dominates in speech. Both mean what as the object of the verb.
When do I use quoi instead of que?: After a preposition (de quoi, à quoi, sur quoi), at the end of a spoken question (tu veux quoi ?), and standing alone (Quoi ?). Que is a weak form that needs a verb straight after it, so anywhere else quoi takes over.
How do you ask what happened in French?: Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ? The answer is the subject of the verb and it is a thing, and that combination has only one form. Que s'est-il passé ? exists in formal writing but is rare in conversation.
Is it qui or lequel for people?: Qui when you are asking about an unknown person: qui a appelé ? Lequel when you are choosing between people already identified: lequel de tes cousins vient ? The same logic applies with à qui versus auquel.