Que, Qu’est-ce que, Qu’est-ce qui, Quoi: What’s That?

There are several ways of formulating an open-ended question in English using interrogative pronouns such as “what,” as in “What are you doing?" In French, there are four equivalents to “what”: the interrogative pronouns que, quoi, qu’est-ce que, and qu’est-ce-qui. Which one should you use? That depends on grammar and the desired level of formality. Let's explore how to use these four different versions of “what.”

The most common way to form a “what” question in French is with the somewhat convoluted phrase qu’est-ce que (literally, "what is it that"), as in Qu’est-ce que c’est ? ("what is it" or "what is that," or literally, "what is it that that is?") Here is an example from our Sophie et Patrice video series:

Mais ces gens crient là-bas. Qu'est-ce que c'est ?

But those people are shouting over there. What is that?

Caption 38, Sophie et Patrice Charles III

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In another Sophie et Patrice video, Sophie adds an extra que to qu'est-ce que c'est to make the idiomatic expression qu’est-ce que c’est que. This is a way to ask about something you're not familiar with or are surprised by. In this case, Sophie is expressing surprise at Patrice's new mustache:

Alors qu'est-ce que c'est que cette moustache ?

So what's with this mustache?

Caption 1, Sophie et Patrice Patrice va jouer Proust

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Going back to qu’est-ce que c’est, here is another example for you:

Alors globalement un four banal, qu'est-ce que c'est ?

So what is a communal oven, basically? [So basically a communal oven, what is it?]

Caption 21, Voyage en France Montmorency - Part 3

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You'll notice that the word order is reversed in the translation. Putting what is it at the end may seem back to front to an English speaker, but it is perfectly natural in French and quite common.

Here is an example where French follows the same sentence structure as in English, with qu’est-ce que (what) at the start of the question:

Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire après? Est-ce que tu vas danser, [chanter]...?

What will you do next? Are you going to dance, sing...?

Caption 25, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 4

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Our speaker could have started his question with que instead, which would mean the same thing. However, grammatically speaking, starting questions with que is trickier as it requires an inversion (when subject and verb switch places). In addition, the tone might have seemed slightly too formal in this very casual conversation with the locals:

Que vas-tu faire après ? 

What will you do next? 

On the other hand, the use of que does not seem out of place in the slightly more formal context of this next example, where a restaurant owner is being interviewed. 

Que vas-tu nous préparer au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

Caption 5, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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Still, the difference in formality is so subtle that both qu’est-ce que and que would have been appropriate for the situation:

Qu'est-ce que tu vas nous préparer au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

On the other hand, if our speaker had used quoi instead, he might have sounded too casual:   

Tu vas nous préparer quoi au menu du jour à huit euros soixante-dix ?

What are you going to prepare for us for today's menu for eight euros seventy?

Indeed, quoi is reserved for more casual settings, such as a conversation among friends or addressing young kids, like the interviewer in the following video. There is no need to switch verb and subject with quoi, but note that quoi always comes after the verb, unlike in English:

Tu fais quoi ici? -Tu fais quoi ici, Nougra, toi?

What are you doing here? -What are you doing here, Nougra?

Caption 77, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 3

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Quoi can also act as a standalone interrogative pronoun. Quoi ? is the equivalent of “What?” in English, often used when expressing surprise. In this video, Sacha is shocked to hear about Sam’s impending marriage:

Quoi ?

What?

Caption 3, Extr@ Ep. 13 - Un mariage dans l’air - Part 5

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Note that you cannot use que as a standalone pronoun. 

Finally, here is a trickier equivalent to “what,” qu’est-ce qui, which is often used to ask what is going on or what happened. As this frequently involves using impersonal verbs that have no real subject, qu’est-ce qui becomes the subject. In other words, unlike qu'est-ce que, which precedes a subject + verb, qu'est-ce qui only precedes a verb. Here is an example with the expression Qu’est-ce qui t’arrive ? (What’s the matter with you?)

Tu as mal à la dent ? Qu'est-ce qui t'arrive ?

Do you have a toothache? What's the matter with you?

Captions 1-2, Sara et Lionel J'ai mal aux dents

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Quoi ? This lesson is over? Not quite. Remember that qu’est-ce que and que are pretty much interchangeable but are grammatically different, and qu’est-ce qui is often used to ask what is going on. As for quoi, it's more suited to casual situations. Feel free to browse through our Yabla videos to know what’s what and familiarize yourself with the various ways of asking questions. Thank you for reading!