French Question Words: Complete Guide to Asking Questions

Asking questions in French requires two skills: knowing the right question word and choosing the right sentence structure. The eight essential French question words are Qui (Who), Que/Quoi (What), Où (Where), Quand (When), Pourquoi (Why), Comment (How), Quel/Quelle (Which/What), and Combien (How much/many). Unlike English, French offers three distinct ways to build a question around these words, and the one you choose signals your formality level instantly.

With over 321 million speakers worldwide according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie's 2024 report, French is spoken across 29 countries on five continents. Whether you are ordering at a café in Lyon, navigating the metro in Montreal, or discussing philosophy in Dakar, question words are the building blocks of every conversation. Research in applied linguistics consistently shows that mastering interrogative structures early accelerates overall fluency, because questions drive interaction.

"Interrogative forms are the engine of conversational acquisition. Learners who master question structures early create more opportunities for authentic input, which accelerates every other aspect of language development."

(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Cambridge University Press)

This guide covers every French question word with pronunciation, grammar rules, usage examples, and the critical distinction between the three question-forming structures. For interactive practice with real French content, visit our French learning page.

Quick Reference: French Question Words

These are the eight interrogative words you will use in virtually every French conversation. The note column highlights key grammar points and common pitfalls.

Qui ?

Qui means "who" and is one of the most straightforward French question words. It does not change form regardless of gender, number, or whether it functions as subject or object.

As a subject (who does the action), qui is followed directly by a verb:

• Qui parle ? = Who is speaking?
• Qui veut du café ? = Who wants coffee?
• Qui a gagné ? = Who won?

As an object (who receives the action), qui combines with est-ce que or triggers inversion:

• Qui est-ce que tu connais ici ? = Who do you know here?
• Qui cherchez-vous ? = Who are you looking for? (formal)
• Tu connais qui ? = Who do you know? (casual, qui at end)

After a preposition, qui stays unchanged: Avec qui tu sors ? (Who are you going out with?), Pour qui est ce cadeau ? (Who is this gift for?). Hawkins and Towell's French Grammar and Usage notes that qui after a preposition is one of the few interrogative structures that works identically in all three formality registers.

Que ? / Quoi ?

French has three ways to say "what," and choosing the wrong one is one of the most common mistakes learners make. The distinction is positional, not semantic; all three mean exactly the same thing.

Que appears at the start of a sentence, before a verb or est-ce que:

• Que fais-tu ? = What are you doing? (formal/inversion)
• Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? = What are you doing? (standard)
• Que se passe-t-il ? = What is happening? (formal)

Note that que contracts to qu' before a vowel: Qu'est-ce que..., Qu'avez-vous dit ?

Quoi appears at the end of a sentence or after a preposition:

• Tu fais quoi ? = What are you doing? (casual)
• C'est quoi, ça ? = What is that? (casual)
• De quoi tu parles ? = What are you talking about?
• À quoi tu penses ? = What are you thinking about?

Qu'est-ce que is the universal middle-ground form that works in virtually any context. It literally means "what is it that" (que + est-ce que) and is the form most language courses teach first. In spoken French, the even longer qu'est-ce que c'est que (what is it that it is that) exists for emphasis: Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce bruit ? (What on earth is that noise?).

According to the CNRTL corpus data, qu'est-ce que appears far more frequently in transcribed speech than either que with inversion or quoi at the end, making it the safest default for learners.

Où ?

Où means "where" and carries an accent grave (ù) that distinguishes it from ou (meaning "or"). This accent has no effect on pronunciation (both are pronounced "oo"), but it is essential in writing.

• Où est la gare ? = Where is the train station?
• Où habites-tu ? = Where do you live? (formal)
• Tu habites où ? = Where do you live? (casual)
• Où est-ce que je peux trouver une pharmacie ? = Where can I find a pharmacy?

D'où (from where) adds a directional element:

• D'où viens-tu ? = Where do you come from?
• D'où est-ce que tu viens ? = Where are you from? (standard)
• Tu viens d'où ? = Where are you from? (casual)

Où can also function as a relative pronoun meaning "where" or "when" in statements: la ville où je suis né (the city where I was born), le jour où nous nous sommes rencontrés (the day when we met). This dual function as both interrogative and relative pronoun makes où one of the most versatile words in French.

Quand ?

Quand means "when." The final -d is completely silent in isolation (pronounced "kahn"), but in formal speech it may produce a liaison -t sound before a vowel: Quand est-ce que can sound like "kahn-tess-kuh."

• Quand est-ce que tu arrives ? = When are you arriving?
• Tu arrives quand ? = When are you arriving? (casual)
• Quand part le train ? = When does the train leave?
• Depuis quand tu habites ici ? = Since when have you lived here?

A common learner mistake is confusing quand with combien de temps (how long). Quand asks about a point in time, while combien de temps asks about duration:

• Quand est-ce que le film commence ? = When does the film start? (point in time)
• Combien de temps dure le film ? = How long is the film? (duration)

Pourquoi ?

Pourquoi means "why" and is answered with parce que (because) or car (for/because, slightly more formal). It is a compound of pour (for) + quoi (what), literally "for what."

• Pourquoi tu pleures ? = Why are you crying? (casual)
• Pourquoi est-ce que le magasin est fermé ? = Why is the store closed?
• Pourquoi fait-il si froid ? = Why is it so cold? (formal)

An important distinction: pourquoi (one word) means "why," while pour quoi (two words) means "for what" or "for what purpose":

• Pourquoi tu travailles ? = Why do you work? (reason/cause)
• Pour quoi tu travailles ? = What are you working for/toward? (goal/purpose)

In everyday speech, this distinction often blurs, and most French speakers use pourquoi for both. But in writing and formal contexts, the Académie française maintains the difference. The answer to pourquoi is parce que (because, indicating cause), while the answer to pour quoi is pour + noun (for, indicating purpose).

Comment ?

Comment means "how" and is one of the first question words French learners encounter, typically in the phrase Comment tu t'appelles ? (What is your name?, literally "How do you call yourself?").

• Comment ça va ? = How are you? / How's it going?
• Comment est-ce qu'on dit ça en français ? = How do you say that in French?
• Comment tu as fait ça ? = How did you do that? (casual)
• Comment s'appelle-t-il ? = What is his name? (formal)

The informal "what?" usage: When used alone as an interjection, Comment ? functions like English "What?" or "Pardon?" This is standard in spoken French and is considered more polite than Quoi ? used the same way:

• Someone says something you missed. You reply: Comment ? (Pardon? / What was that?)
• Compare with: Quoi ? (What?! Sounds blunt or even rude.)

Comment also appears in several fixed expressions: Comment se fait-il que... (How is it that...), N'importe comment (any way / carelessly), and the literary comment donc ! (an exclamation of surprise).

Quel ? / Quelle ? / Quels ? / Quelles ?

Quel is the only French question word that changes form to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. This is a grammar rule that does not exist in English, and it trips up learners at every level.

All four forms are pronounced identically ("kehl"), so the agreement only matters in writing. But it matters a great deal in writing: getting the form wrong is a clear marker of non-native French.

• Quel est ton numéro ? = What is your number? (masculine)
• Quelle est ta couleur préférée ? = What is your favorite color? (feminine)
• Quels sont les horaires ? = What are the times/schedules? (masculine plural)
• Quelles sont vos disponibilités ? = What is your availability? (feminine plural)

Quel also appears in exclamations: Quel beau temps ! (What beautiful weather!), Quelle surprise ! (What a surprise!), Quels idiots ! (What idiots!). In these cases, there is no question mark, and the same word shifts from interrogative to exclamatory function.

Combien ?

Combien means "how much" or "how many" and is always followed by de (not des or du) when preceding a noun. This is a rule learners frequently forget.

• Combien ça coûte ? = How much does it cost?
• Combien de langues tu parles ? = How many languages do you speak?
• Combien de temps ça prend ? = How much time does it take?
• Tu as combien de frères et sœurs ? = How many siblings do you have? (casual)

The de after combien replaces any article. You say Combien de personnes ? (How many people?), never Combien des personnes.

Combien alone, without de, asks about price or quantity in a general sense: C'est combien ? (How much is it?), Il y en a combien ? (How many are there?). This short form is extremely common in shops, restaurants, and markets across all French-speaking countries.

Practice with French Movies and TV

Watching French films and series is one of the best ways to internalize question structures, because you hear them in natural context with native intonation. Pay attention to how characters switch between the three question forms depending on who they are speaking to. A character might use Tu fais quoi ? with a friend and Que désirez-vous ? with a stranger in the same scene.

Check out our guide to the best movies to learn French for curated recommendations. You can also explore more French vocabulary and phrases on our French learning page and browse all language learning articles on the Wordy blog.