If you want to have real conversations in French, you need to know how to ask questions.

French question words help you ask things like:

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

How?

How much?

The most common French question words are:

Qui = who

Que / Quoi = what

Où = where

Quand = when

Pourquoi = why

Comment = how

Combien = how much / how many

For example:

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?
Why are you learning French?

Comment ça va ?
How are you?

In this guide, you will learn the most useful French question words, how to use them naturally, and the difference between forms like que, quoi, and qu’est-ce que.

Quick Answer: The Main French Question Words

Here are the most important ones to know:

Qui
Who

Que / Quoi
What

Où
Where

Quand
When

Pourquoi
Why

Comment
How

Combien
How much / how many

Quel / Quelle / Quels / Quelles
Which / what

À qui
To whom / who...to

Avec qui
With whom / who...with

De qui
About whom / from whom

These words can appear in several different question structures.

For example:

Où tu habites ?
Where do you live?

Où est-ce que tu habites ?
Where do you live?

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

All three can be correct.

The difference is mainly how conversational or formal the sentence sounds.

How French Questions Work

French has several ways to ask the same question.

The three most common are:

1. Spoken word order

Tu habites où ?
Where do you live?

2. Est-ce que

Où est-ce que tu habites ?
Where do you live?

3. Inversion

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

In everyday spoken French, you will hear the first two very often.

Inversion is correct, but it can sound more formal or written.

Qui: How to Say “Who” in French

Use qui to ask about a person.

For example:

Qui est là ?
Who is there?

Qui vient ce soir ?
Who is coming tonight?

Qui est ton professeur ?
Who is your teacher?

If qui is the subject of the sentence, you can use it directly before the verb.

For example:

Qui parle ?
Who is speaking?

Qui veut venir ?
Who wants to come?

Qui habite ici ?
Who lives here?

Qui as the Object of a Question

You can also ask who receives the action.

For example:

Qui est-ce que tu invites ?
Who are you inviting?

Qui tu invites ?
Who are you inviting?

The second version is very common in spoken French.

You may also see:

Qui invites-tu ?

This is grammatically correct, but more formal.

À Qui, Avec Qui and De Qui

You can combine qui with prepositions.

For example:

À qui tu parles ?
Who are you talking to?

Avec qui tu vas au restaurant ?
Who are you going to the restaurant with?

De qui tu parles ?
Who are you talking about?

These are extremely useful in everyday conversation.

Que: How to Say “What” in French

Que means “what,” but you usually do not use it alone in everyday spoken French.

You will often see it in forms like:

Qu’est-ce que

For example:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?

Qu’est-ce que tu veux ?
What do you want?

Qu’est-ce que tu regardes ?
What are you watching?

This is one of the most useful question structures to learn.

Qu’est-ce que: The Most Useful Way to Ask “What”

If you are a beginner, qu’est-ce que is one of the safest and most useful ways to ask “what.”

The structure is:

Qu’est-ce que + subject + verb

For example:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?

Qu’est-ce que vous cherchez ?
What are you looking for?

Qu’est-ce qu’elle mange ?
What is she eating?

Notice that before a vowel, que becomes qu’.

So:

Qu’est-ce que elle...

becomes:

Qu’est-ce qu’elle...

Quoi: Another Way to Say “What”

Quoi also means “what,” but it is used differently from que.

You will often hear quoi at the end of a spoken question.

For example:

Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing?

Tu veux quoi ?
What do you want?

Tu regardes quoi ?
What are you watching?

These are extremely common in everyday spoken French.

They are more conversational than:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

Both are correct.

Que vs Quoi

This is a very common question.

Compare:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?

Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing?

The meaning is the same.

The difference is mainly the structure and tone.

Qu’est-ce que is neutral and very useful for learners.

Quoi at the end is especially common in casual spoken French.

You generally would not say:

❌ Quoi tu fais ?

Instead, say:

Tu fais quoi ?

or:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

Où: How to Say “Where” in French

Use où to ask about a place.

For example:

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

Où est-ce que tu travailles ?
Where do you work?

Tu vas où ?
Where are you going?

Notice the accent:

où = where

Without the accent:

ou = or

For example:

Tu veux du thé ou du café ?
Do you want tea or coffee?

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

The accent changes the meaning completely.

Quand: How to Say “When” in French

Use quand to ask about time.

For example:

Quand est-ce que tu pars ?
When are you leaving?

Tu arrives quand ?
When are you arriving?

Quand commence le cours ?
When does the class start?

In spoken French, placing quand at the end is very common:

Tu pars quand ?
When are you leaving?

Tu reviens quand ?
When are you coming back?

Pourquoi: How to Say “Why” in French

Use pourquoi to ask for a reason.

For example:

Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?
Why are you learning French?

Pourquoi est-ce qu’il est parti ?
Why did he leave?

Pourquoi tu ris ?
Why are you laughing?

To answer pourquoi, you will often use:

parce que = because

For example:

Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?

Parce que j’aime la France.
Because I like France.

Pourquoi vs Parce Que

These two are easy to confuse because they often appear together.

Pourquoi asks the question.

Why?

Parce que gives the reason.

Because.

For example:

Pourquoi tu es en retard ?
Why are you late?

Parce qu’il y avait beaucoup de circulation.
Because there was a lot of traffic.

A very common beginner mistake is mixing up the two.

Comment: How to Say “How” in French

Use comment to ask how something happens or how someone is.

For example:

Comment ça va ?
How are you?

Comment tu t’appelles ?
What is your name?

Literally, this is closer to “How do you call yourself?”

Another example:

Comment est-ce que ça marche ?
How does it work?

Comment tu fais ça ?
How do you do that?

Comment Tu T’appelles?

This is one of the first questions most French learners encounter.

Comment tu t’appelles ?
What is your name?

You can also say:

Comment vous vous appelez ?
What is your name?

Use vous when speaking formally or to several people.

In more formal French, you may see:

Comment vous appelez-vous ?

All of these are correct.

Combien: How Much or How Many

Use combien to ask about quantity or price.

For example:

Combien ça coûte ?
How much does it cost?

Combien tu en veux ?
How many do you want?

Combien de personnes viennent ?
How many people are coming?

When combien is followed by a noun, use:

combien de + noun

For example:

Combien de frères as-tu ?
How many brothers do you have?

Combien de temps ça prend ?
How long does it take?

Combien d’enfants ont-ils ?
How many children do they have?

Notice that de becomes d’ before a vowel.

Quel, Quelle, Quels and Quelles

Use quel when you are asking which or what + noun.

Unlike most other question words, quel agrees with the noun.

Use:

Quel with a masculine singular noun

Quelle with a feminine singular noun

Quels with a masculine plural noun

Quelles with a feminine plural noun

For example:

Quel âge as-tu ?
How old are you?

Quelle heure est-il ?
What time is it?

Quels films tu préfères ?
Which movies do you prefer?

Quelles langues tu parles ?
Which languages do you speak?

Quel vs Qu’est-ce Que

Compare:

Quel film tu regardes ?
Which movie are you watching?

Qu’est-ce que tu regardes ?
What are you watching?

The first question asks you to identify a specific noun:

Which movie?

The second is broader:

What are you watching?

That is the basic difference.

À Quelle Heure: Asking What Time

A very useful expression is:

À quelle heure ?
At what time?

For example:

À quelle heure tu commences ?
What time do you start?

À quelle heure est-ce que le train part ?
What time does the train leave?

Le film commence à quelle heure ?
What time does the movie start?

That last structure is especially common in everyday spoken French.

How to Ask “Which One?”

To ask “which one?” in French, you can use forms of lequel.

For example:

Lequel tu préfères ?
Which one do you prefer?

For feminine nouns:

Laquelle ?

For plural masculine nouns:

Lesquels ?

For plural feminine nouns:

Lesquelles ?

For beginners, it is enough to recognize these forms at first.

What French Speakers Actually Say

One of the biggest differences between textbook French and spoken French is where the question word appears.

A textbook might teach:

Où allez-vous ?
Where are you going?

But in everyday conversation, you will very often hear:

Vous allez où ?

Instead of:

Quand pars-tu ?

you may hear:

Tu pars quand ?

Instead of:

Que fais-tu ?

you are much more likely to hear:

Tu fais quoi ?

These forms are not bad French.

They are normal spoken French.

If your goal is to understand native speakers, it is important to recognize both formal and conversational question structures.

Common Mistake: Always Using Inversion

Some learners think every correct French question needs inversion.

For example:

Où habites-tu ?

This is correct.

But you do not need to speak this way all the time.

In everyday conversation, you can also say:

Tu habites où ?

or:

Où est-ce que tu habites ?

These often sound more natural in casual conversation.

Common Mistake: Saying Quoi Tu Fais?

You may hear:

Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing?

But beginners sometimes reverse it:

❌ Quoi tu fais ?

Instead, use:

Tu fais quoi ?

or:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

Common Mistake: Forgetting De After Combien

Do not say:

❌ Combien personnes ?

Say:

Combien de personnes ?
How many people?

Another example:

Combien de temps ?
How much time?

Combien d’argent ?
How much money?

Use combien de + noun.

Common Mistake: Confusing Ou and Où

Remember:

ou = or

où = where

For example:

Tu veux manger ici ou chez toi ?
Do you want to eat here or at your place?

Où veux-tu manger ?
Where do you want to eat?

The accent matters.

French Question Words: Try These Examples

Choose the correct question word.

1. ___ habites-tu ?

Answer:

Où

Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?

2. ___ tu apprends le français ?

Answer:

Pourquoi

Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?
Why are you learning French?

3. ___ ça coûte ?

Answer:

Combien

Combien ça coûte ?
How much does it cost?

4. ___ est ton professeur ?

Answer:

Qui

Qui est ton professeur ?
Who is your teacher?

5. ___ tu fais ce soir ?

Answer:

Qu’est-ce que

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce soir ?
What are you doing tonight?

You could also say:

Tu fais quoi ce soir ?

6. ___ heure commence le cours ?

Answer:

Quelle

À quelle heure commence le cours ?
What time does the class start?

7. ___ tu pars ?

Answer:

Quand

Tu pars quand ?
When are you leaving?

A Simple Way to Remember the Main Question Words

Think about the information you want.

If you want a person, use:

qui

If you want a thing or action, use:

que / quoi

If you want a place, use:

où

If you want a time, use:

quand

If you want a reason, use:

pourquoi

If you want to know how, use:

comment

If you want a quantity or price, use:

combien

If you want to ask which + noun, use:

quel / quelle / quels / quelles

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between que and quoi?

Both can mean what, but they are used differently.

Use qu’est-ce que before a subject and verb:

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?

Use quoi commonly at the end of a spoken question:

Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing?

Is est-ce que formal?

Not really.

Est-ce que is very common and neutral.

It works well in both conversation and writing.

For example:

Où est-ce que tu habites ?
Where do you live?

Pourquoi est-ce qu’il est parti ?
Why did he leave?

Do French speakers really say tu fais quoi?

Yes.

This is extremely common in everyday spoken French.

You will also hear:

Tu vas où ?

Tu pars quand ?

Tu viens avec qui ?

These are natural conversational questions.

What is the difference between quel and que?

Use quel before a noun.

Quel film tu regardes ?
Which movie are you watching?

Use que / qu’est-ce que to ask “what” more generally.

Qu’est-ce que tu regardes ?
What are you watching?

How do you ask how much something costs?

Say:

Combien ça coûte ?
How much does it cost?

This is one of the most useful questions to know when traveling in a French-speaking country.

Remember This

The most important French question words are:

Qui = who

Que / Quoi = what

Où = where

Quand = when

Pourquoi = why

Comment = how

Combien = how much / how many

Quel / Quelle / Quels / Quelles = which / what

And remember that French questions do not always need inversion.

In everyday conversation, you will often hear:

Tu vas où ?

Tu fais quoi ?

Tu pars quand ?

Tu viens avec qui ?

Learning both the standard structures and the forms French speakers actually use will make it much easier to ask questions and understand real spoken French.