Does qui mean who or that in French?

Both, and also which. Qui is chosen by its grammatical role rather than by its translation: it stands in for the subject of the relative clause. La personne qui parle is the person who is speaking, and le moteur qui fait du bruit is the engine that's making a noise.

Can qui refer to things and not just people?

Yes, as long as it is the subject of its clause. Une histoire qui finit mal is perfectly ordinary French. The restriction to people only applies after a preposition, where things take lequel: la boîte dans laquelle j'ai rangé les photos.

How do I know if I need qui or que?

Look at the word immediately after. Qui is followed by a conjugated verb because it is the subject: le chat qui dort. Que is followed by a subject because the clause already has one: le chat que je caresse.

Why is it c'est moi qui ai and not c'est moi qui a?

Because qui inherits the person of its antecedent. Moi is first person singular, so the verb has to be ai: c'est moi qui ai oublié. The same applies to c'est toi qui as and c'est nous qui avons.

Does qui ever become qu' before a vowel?

No. Only que elides, giving qu'il and qu'elle. Qui stays intact: la fille qui est arrivée, le train qui entre en gare. Writing qu'habite for qui habite is a spelling error, not a variant.

French grammar · Beginner

Qui in French: Saying Who, Which or That With a Relative Clause

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

Qui is the relative pronoun that fills a subject gap, and it translates as who, which or that depending on the English sentence. Because it is the subject of its own clause, a conjugated verb comes straight after it, and it works for people and objects alike.

J'ai un frère qui habite au Canada.

I have a brother who lives in Canada.

What it is

English picks its relative pronoun by looking at the noun: who for people, which or that for everything else. French picks by looking at the clause. Qui is what you use when the clause is missing its subject, whether that subject is a person, an animal, an idea or a machine.

le train qui part à midi — the train that leaves at noon

How to spot it

Read the clause after the noun. If the very next word is a conjugated verb with nothing to perform it, the missing piece is the subject and the pronoun is qui.

une amie qui parle russe — a friend who speaks Russian
un problème qui revient souvent — a problem that comes up often
les enfants qui jouent dehors — the children playing outside
un bruit qui m'empêche de dormir — a noise that stops me sleeping

Qui never shortens. Even in front of a vowel it stays qui: la femme qui arrive, never qu'arrive. Only que elides.

Qui as a Relative Pronoun Quick Reference

One French pronoun, three English translations

French	English	Why qui
la voisine qui chante	the neighbour who sings	she performs the singing
le chien qui aboie	the dog that barks	it performs the barking
une idée qui me plaît	an idea which appeals to me	the idea does the appealing
les gens qui attendent	the people waiting	English drops who; French cannot
l'ami à qui je pense	the friend I'm thinking of	à + a person takes qui
C'est toi qui décides.	You're the one who decides.	qui takes the person of toi

Common Qui as a Relative Pronoun Examples in French

Qui across the meanings English splits into who, which and that:

Qui for People (who)

La dame qui tient la boulangerie est très gentille.: The lady who runs the bakery is very kind.
J'ai des collègues qui viennent de partout.: I have colleagues who come from all over.
L'élève qui a répondu avait raison.: The student who answered was right.
Ce sont des gens qui savent écouter.: They're people who know how to listen.

Nothing changes for plural or feminine antecedents: qui has one form for everything.

Qui for Things (which, that)

Prends la valise qui est dans le couloir.: Take the suitcase that's in the corridor.
C'est une machine qui consomme peu.: It's a machine that doesn't use much power.
J'ai reçu une lettre qui venait de Belgique.: I got a letter that came from Belgium.
Voilà l'immeuble qui a brûlé.: There's the building that burnt down.

English speakers hesitate here because qui looks like who. Grammatically the antecedent's nature is irrelevant.

Where English Says Nothing at All

les voitures qui roulent trop vite: the cars driving too fast
une odeur qui monte de la cuisine: a smell coming up from the kitchen
un homme qui portait un chapeau: a man wearing a hat
des mots qui sonnent bien: words that sound good

English can compress these into a participle. French keeps the full relative clause with qui and a conjugated verb.

Qui in Cleft Sentences

C'est Marie qui a payé.: Marie's the one who paid.
C'est le bruit qui me dérange, pas la musique.: It's the noise that bothers me, not the music.
C'est nous qui avons trouvé la solution.: We're the ones who found the solution.
Ce sont ses parents qui décident.: It's his parents who decide.

French uses c'est … qui the way English uses stress or word order to single out the subject.

How Qui Works as a Relative Pronoun

Qui does one job — it stands in for the subject — and everything else about it follows from that.

Qui Is the Subject, So a Verb Follows Immediately

Because qui occupies the subject slot, the next word is the conjugated verb of the clause. If you find a subject sitting between the pronoun and the verb, you are looking at que, not qui.

Le facteur qui sonne arrive toujours tôt.

The postman who rings always comes early.

qui + verb, que + subject.

The Antecedent Can Be Anything

People, animals, objects, abstractions and even whole situations can be the antecedent of qui. This is the biggest difference from English, where who is reserved for people.

Une pluie qui ne s'arrête jamais.

Rain that never stops.

Qui is not who; it is subject.

The Verb Agrees With the Antecedent

Qui is transparent: it passes the number and person of its antecedent straight to the verb. Les gens qui attendent takes a plural verb, and c'est moi qui takes a first-person one.

C'est moi qui suis en retard.

I'm the one who's late.

moi qui suis, toi qui es, nous qui sommes.

Qui Never Elides

Que becomes qu' before a vowel, and learners often extend the habit. Qui keeps its final i in every environment because the i is the vowel that carries the word.

La porte qui ouvre sur le jardin est fermée.

The door that opens onto the garden is shut.

qui arrive, qui est, qui ouvre — never qu'.

After a Preposition, Qui Means a Person

In a prepositional phrase, qui is reserved for people: avec qui, à qui, pour qui, sans qui. For things, French switches to a form of lequel: l'outil avec lequel je travaille.

La personne à qui j'ai parlé était très aimable.

The person I spoke to was very pleasant.

Preposition + qui = a human being.

Common Mistakes with Qui as a Relative Pronoun

Incorrect: Le bus que passe devant chez moi est toujours plein. — The bus that goes past my place is always full.

Correct: Le bus qui passe devant chez moi est toujours plein. — The bus that goes past my place is always full.

Passe has no subject of its own, so the empty slot is the subject and only qui can fill it. The fact that a bus is an object does not push you towards que.

Incorrect: La femme qu'habite ici est danoise. — The woman who lives here is Danish.

Correct: La femme qui habite ici est danoise. — The woman who lives here is Danish.

Qui does not elide in front of a vowel. Learners transfer the qu' from que, but qui keeps its full form everywhere.

Incorrect: C'est nous qui a gagné. — We're the ones who won.

Correct: C'est nous qui avons gagné. — We're the ones who won.

Qui carries the person of its antecedent through to the verb, so nous qui takes avons. Treating qui as an automatic third person singular is the usual slip in cleft sentences.

Incorrect: le stylo avec qui j'écris — the pen I write with

Correct: le stylo avec lequel j'écris — the pen I write with

After a preposition, qui is only for people. An object requires lequel, laquelle, lesquels or lesquelles, agreeing with the antecedent.

Two Constructions Built on Qui

Once the subject use is secure, these two patterns cover most of the remaining ground.

Preposition + qui for people

When the relative clause needs a preposition and the antecedent is human, French puts the preposition in front of qui and leaves it there. English strands the preposition at the end.

l'homme avec qui elle est mariée: the man she's married to
les voisins chez qui nous dînons: the neighbours we're having dinner with
l'ami sans qui je n'y serais pas arrivé: the friend without whom I wouldn't have managed

Auquel and à laquelle are also possible for people, but à qui is far more idiomatic.

C'est … qui to spotlight the subject

French has fairly rigid word order, so to highlight the subject it wraps it in c'est … qui. The verb inside the clause agrees with the highlighted element, not with ce.

C'est vous qui avez raison.: You're the ones who are right.
Ce sont les enfants qui ont décidé.: It was the children who decided.
C'est ce détail qui change tout.: It's that detail that changes everything.

Compare c'est … que, which highlights the object: c'est ce livre que je cherche.

Qui as a Relative Pronoun FAQs

Does qui mean who or that in French?: Both, and also which. Qui is chosen by its grammatical role rather than by its translation: it stands in for the subject of the relative clause. La personne qui parle is the person who is speaking, and le moteur qui fait du bruit is the engine that's making a noise.
Can qui refer to things and not just people?: Yes, as long as it is the subject of its clause. Une histoire qui finit mal is perfectly ordinary French. The restriction to people only applies after a preposition, where things take lequel: la boîte dans laquelle j'ai rangé les photos.
How do I know if I need qui or que?: Look at the word immediately after. Qui is followed by a conjugated verb because it is the subject: le chat qui dort. Que is followed by a subject because the clause already has one: le chat que je caresse.
Why is it c'est moi qui ai and not c'est moi qui a?: Because qui inherits the person of its antecedent. Moi is first person singular, so the verb has to be ai: c'est moi qui ai oublié. The same applies to c'est toi qui as and c'est nous qui avons.
Does qui ever become qu' before a vowel?: No. Only que elides, giving qu'il and qu'elle. Qui stays intact: la fille qui est arrivée, le train qui entre en gare. Writing qu'habite for qui habite is a spelling error, not a variant.