Spanish Question Words: Complete Guide to Asking Questions
Quick Answer
The eight core Spanish question words are: ¿Qué? (what), ¿Quién? (who), ¿Dónde? (where), ¿Cuándo? (when), ¿Por qué? (why), ¿Cómo? (how), ¿Cuál? (which/what), and ¿Cuánto? (how much/many). All interrogative words carry an accent mark when used in questions, and Spanish uniquely uses an inverted question mark ¿ at the start of every question.
Spanish question words (known as palabras interrogativas) are the keys to unlocking real conversation. The eight core interrogatives are ¿Qué? (what), ¿Quién? (who), ¿Dónde? (where), ¿Cuándo? (when), ¿Por qué? (why), ¿Cómo? (how), ¿Cuál? (which/what), and ¿Cuánto? (how much/many). Master these and you can ask about anything.
With approximately 559 million speakers across 21 countries according to Ethnologue's 2024 data, Spanish is the world's second-largest language by native speakers. Whether you are navigating a new city, ordering at a restaurant, or getting to know someone, question words are among the first vocabulary any learner needs. Research from the Instituto Cervantes shows that interrogative structures appear in over 30% of everyday conversational exchanges.
"The interrogative system of Spanish is remarkably compact. Eight core forms, combined with prepositions and context, cover the entire range of questions a speaker might need." (John Butt & Carmen Benjamin, A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish, Routledge, 2019)
This guide covers every Spanish question word with pronunciation, usage rules, example sentences, and the critical distinctions (like ¿qué? vs ¿cuál?) that trip up even intermediate learners. You can also explore more Spanish vocabulary in our blog or start practicing with Wordy's Spanish learning tools.
Quick Reference: All Spanish Question Words
Every word in this table carries an accent mark. That accent is not optional, it is what distinguishes an interrogative from an ordinary relative pronoun. More on this critical rule below.
¿Qué?
¿Qué? (keh) is the most versatile question word in Spanish. It translates to "what?" and is used when asking for definitions, explanations, or when placed directly before a noun.
The key rule: use ¿qué? directly before a noun (¿Qué color prefieres?) and when asking for a definition (¿Qué es la democracia?). This is where many learners confuse it with ¿cuál?, which we cover in detail below.
¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes?
¿Quién? (kee-EN) means "who?" for a single person, and ¿Quiénes? (kee-EH-nes) is the plural form for multiple people. Unlike English, Spanish distinguishes singular and plural in its question words.
Notice that ¿quién? combines freely with prepositions: ¿de quién? (whose / of whom), ¿con quién? (with whom), ¿a quién? (to whom), ¿para quién? (for whom). The preposition always comes before quién, never at the end of the sentence as in casual English.
¿Dónde?
¿Dónde? (DOHN-deh) means "where?" and combines with prepositions to create more specific location questions.
The three prepositional forms are essential for travel: ¿De dónde? asks about origin, ¿A dónde? (sometimes written ¿Adónde? as one word) asks about destination, and ¿Por dónde? asks about the route or direction. If you are learning Spanish for travel, these three variations will serve you daily.
¿Cuándo?
¿Cuándo? (KWAHN-doh) means "when?" and is one of the most straightforward question words, it has no plural form and no prepositional variants.
¿Desde cuándo? (since when?) and ¿Hasta cuándo? (until when?) are common in everyday speech. Spanish speakers also frequently use ¿Cuándo? on its own as a one-word question, someone mentions a trip, you simply respond ¿Cuándo?
¿Por qué? / ¿Para qué?
This is where Spanish gets tricky. ¿Por qué? (por KEH) means "why?" and asks about the cause or reason. ¿Para qué? (PAH-rah keh) means "what for?" and asks about the purpose or goal.
⚠️ The Four Forms of 'Porqué'
This is one of the most tested topics in Spanish exams and one of the top mistakes even native speakers make:
- ¿Por qué? (two words, accent): "Why?" in questions: ¿Por qué llueve?
- Porque (one word, no accent): "Because" in answers: Porque está nublado.
- El porqué (one word, accent, with article): "The reason" (a noun): No entiendo el porqué.
- Por que (two words, no accent): "For which" after certain verbs: La razón por que vino... (rare, formal)
The RAE's Diccionario panhispánico de dudas dedicates an entire entry to these four forms because of how frequently they cause confusion.
¿Cómo?
¿Cómo? (KOH-moh) means "how?" and is one of the first words you will use in any Spanish conversation, it appears in the universal greeting ¿Cómo estás?
Notice that ¿Cómo te llamas? literally translates to "How do you call yourself?", Spanish uses ¿cómo? where English uses "what" for names. Similarly, ¿Cómo es? asks "What is it like?" (describing characteristics), while ¿Qué es? asks "What is it?" (identifying something). This distinction between manner and identity is key.
¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles?
¿Cuál? (kwahl) means "which?" or "what?" when selecting from options. ¿Cuáles? (KWAH-les) is the plural form. This is the question word that causes the most confusion for English speakers.
The ¿Qué? vs ¿Cuál? Rule
This is the single most confusing distinction for English speakers learning Spanish. Both can translate to "what?" in English, but they are not interchangeable. According to the RAE's grammar guidelines and Butt & Benjamin's reference grammar, the rule works like this:
Use ¿Qué? when:
- Asking for a definition: ¿Qué es el amor? (What is love?)
- Placed directly before a noun: ¿Qué deporte practicas? (What sport do you play?)
Use ¿Cuál? when:
- Asking someone to select or identify from options: ¿Cuál es tu favorito? (What/which is your favorite?)
- Before es/son when the answer is a specific choice, not a definition: ¿Cuál es tu dirección? (What is your address?)
The classic example: ¿Qué es tu nombre? is grammatically wrong, it would be asking "What is a name?" (a definition). The correct form is ¿Cuál es tu nombre? because you are asking someone to identify their specific name from all possible names.
¿Cuánto? / ¿Cuánta? / ¿Cuántos? / ¿Cuántas?
¿Cuánto? (KWAHN-toh) means "how much?" or "how many?" and is unique among Spanish question words because it changes for both gender and number to agree with the noun it modifies.
When used without a noun (¿Cuánto cuesta?), the default masculine singular form is used. But when modifying a noun, the form must match: ¿Cuántas horas? (how many hours?, feminine plural because hora is feminine). If you have studied Spanish numbers, you will recognize this same gender-agreement pattern from doscientos/doscientas.
The Accent Mark Rule
💡 Accents on Question Words: The Golden Rule
Every Spanish interrogative word has two forms, one with an accent (interrogative) and one without (relative pronoun or conjunction). The accent mark signals that the word is asking a question:
| Interrogative (accent) | Relative/conjunction (no accent) |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué quieres? (What do you want?) | Lo que quieres (What you want) |
| ¿Dónde estás? (Where are you?) | La casa donde vivo (The house where I live) |
| ¿Cuándo vienes? (When are you coming?) | Cuando puedas (Whenever you can) |
| ¿Cómo lo hiciste? (How did you do it?) | Como quieras (However you want) |
This rule also applies in indirect questions, the accent stays even inside a statement: No sé dónde está (I don't know where it is). If you are asking, even indirectly, the accent remains.
Cultural Notes
🌍 ¿Mande?, Mexico's Polite 'What?'
In Mexico, instead of saying ¿Qué? (which can sound blunt), many speakers use ¿Mande? (MAHN-deh) (literally "command me") as a polite way to say "pardon?" or "what did you say?" This dates back to colonial-era servant language and remains widespread in Mexican Spanish. In Spain, ¿Mande? sounds old-fashioned or overly formal; Spaniards typically say ¿Cómo? or ¿Perdona? instead.
🌍 The Inverted Question Mark ¿
Spanish is the only major world language that uses an inverted question mark at the start of a question. The Real Academia Española introduced this convention in 1754 to help readers identify question intonation from the very first word, especially useful in long sentences. For example: ¿Después de todo lo que pasó ayer en la oficina, tú crees que deberíamos hablar con el jefe? Without the opening ¿, a reader would not know this was a question until reaching the final ? mark.
Practice with Movies and TV
One of the best ways to internalize Spanish question words is by listening for them in authentic media. Telenovelas, Spanish-language films, and series on streaming platforms are packed with interrogative exchanges. Pay attention to how native speakers use rising intonation with ¿Qué pasó?, the dramatic ¿Por qué? in emotional scenes, and the ubiquitous ¿Cómo estás? in every greeting.
Check out our guide to the best movies to learn Spanish for curated recommendations. You can also practice question words interactively with Wordy's Spanish tools, which let you build vocabulary from real movie and TV dialogues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main question words in Spanish?
What is the difference between qué and cuál in Spanish?
Why does Spanish use an upside-down question mark?
What is the difference between por qué, porque, porqué, and por que?
Do Spanish question words always need accent marks?
How do you form basic questions in Spanish?
Sources & References
- Real Academia Española (RAE) — Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd edition
- Butt, J. & Benjamin, C. — A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish, 6th edition (Routledge, 2019)
- Instituto Cervantes — El español en el mundo, 2024 annual report
- Crystal, D. — The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (Cambridge University Press)
- Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 27th edition (2024)
Start learning with Wordy
Watch real movie clips and build your vocabulary as you go. Free to download.
