Spanish Question Words (Qué, Quién, Cómo…) — 20 Cards
🇪🇸 Spanish · 20 cards · A1 · by Lucía Herrera
These are the twenty question words my beginner students ask about in their first weeks, in the order I teach them. Three things trip people up. First, the accent: interrogatives always carry one, even inside a sentence with no question marks — No sé dónde está. Second, the qué / cuál split, which does not line up with English "what" and "which". Third, cuánto changes for gender and number when it comes before a noun.
Say every example out loud. Unlike English, a Spanish question that begins with a question word usually falls in pitch at the end. And keep the verb right after the question word: ¿Dónde vive tu hermana?, never ¿Dónde tu hermana vive?
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 20 cards
| # | Spanish | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | qué Carries an accent in direct and indirect questions. Unstressed que (no accent) means "that" or "than". | what | ¿Qué quieres comer hoy? What do you want to eat today? | |
| 2 | quién Singular only; use quiénes if you expect more than one person. | who | ¿Quién es ese chico? Who is that guy? | |
| 3 | quiénes Spanish makes "who" plural and the verb plural too; English does not. | who (plural) | ¿Quiénes vienen a la fiesta? Who is coming to the party? | |
| 4 | cómo On its own, ¿Cómo? means "Sorry, what?" when you did not hear. More polite: ¿Cómo dice? | how | ¿Cómo se dice esto en español? How do you say this in Spanish? | |
| 5 | dónde For location use estar, not ser: ¿Dónde está…? | where | Perdona, ¿dónde está el baño? Excuse me, where is the bathroom? | |
| 6 | cuándo Don't confuse it with cuánto (how much): note the extra n and the accent on the first syllable of both. | when | ¿Cuándo llega tu vuelo? When does your flight arrive? | |
| 7 | por qué Two words, with an accent. The answer, porque ("because"), is one word with no accent. | why | ¿Por qué no me llamaste anoche? Why didn't you call me last night? | |
| 8 | cuánto Invariable when it goes straight with a verb (¿Cuánto cuesta?); masculine singular before a noun (¿Cuánto dinero?). | how much | ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? How much does this cost? | |
| 9 | cuánta Goes before a feminine singular noun: cuánta agua, cuánta gente. Gente is singular in Spanish, so English says "how many people". | how much (feminine) | ¿Cuánta gente había en el concierto? How many people were at the concert? | |
| 10 | cuántos Literally "how many years do you have?" — Spanish uses tener for age. | how many (masculine) | ¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you? | |
| 11 | cuántas Agrees with a feminine plural noun: cuántas sillas, cuántas horas. | how many (feminine) | ¿Cuántas hermanas tienes? How many sisters do you have? | |
| 12 | cuál Picks one out of a known set. Spanish says ¿Cuál es tu nombre?, never ¿Qué es tu nombre? | which, which one | ¿Cuál prefieres, el rojo o el azul? Which one do you prefer, the red one or the blue one? | |
| 13 | cuáles Plural of cuál; the verb goes in the plural too (son). | which ones, which | ¿Cuáles son tus películas favoritas? Which are your favourite films? | |
| 14 | adónde Used with verbs of movement (ir, viajar). Also written a dónde; both spellings are accepted. | where to | ¿Adónde vas con tanta prisa? Where are you going in such a hurry? | |
| 15 | de dónde Origin takes ser, not estar. | where from | ¿De dónde eres? Where are you from? | |
| 16 | para qué Asks about purpose; por qué asks about cause or reason. | what for, why (purpose) | ¿Para qué sirve este botón? What is this button for? | |
| 17 | a qué hora The a is obligatory. Cuándo asks about the day, a qué hora about the clock. | at what time | ¿A qué hora empieza la película? What time does the film start? | |
| 18 | de quién Spanish has no one-word "whose" in questions; use de quién (or de quiénes for several owners) with ser. | whose | ¿De quién es este paraguas? Whose umbrella is this? | |
| 19 | con quién The preposition comes first in Spanish; it cannot be left at the end as in English "Who with?" | who with | ¿Con quién hablaste ayer? Who did you talk to yesterday? | |
| 20 | qué tal Informal. Works as a greeting and to ask how something went, often with no verb at all. | how's it going, how was | ¿Qué tal el examen? How was the exam? |
Native Spanish speaker from Valencia, now in Mexico City. I tutor Spanish online and keep a notebook of the words my students trip over. Every deck here comes from that notebook.
Questions about this deck
- Why do Spanish question words always have an accent?
- The written accent marks the word as interrogative and separates it from an identical everyday word: qué (what) vs que (that), dónde (where) vs donde (relative "where"), por qué (why) vs porque (because), cuál vs cual. Keep the accent in indirect questions too, where there are no question marks: No sé dónde está. Dime qué quieres. Pregúntale cuándo llega.
- When do I use qué and when cuál?
- Use qué directly before a noun (¿Qué color te gusta?) and to ask for a definition (¿Qué es la paella?). Use cuál when you are picking from a set, especially before ser or de: ¿Cuál es tu número?, ¿Cuál quieres?, ¿Cuál de los dos? "What is your name?" is ¿Cómo te llamas? or ¿Cuál es tu nombre? — never ¿Qué es tu nombre?
- What is the difference between dónde, adónde and de dónde?
- Dónde asks about static location, with estar or vivir: ¿Dónde está la estación? Adónde asks about destination, with movement verbs: ¿Adónde vamos? De dónde asks about origin, normally with ser: ¿De dónde eres? In casual speech many people say ¿Dónde vas?, but adónde is the careful form.
- Do I really need the upside-down question mark?
- Yes, in writing. Spanish opens a direct question with ¿ and closes it with ?: ¿Cuántos años tienes? It warns the reader from the start, which matters because Spanish questions often keep statement word order. Native speakers drop it in chat messages, but exams and any formal writing require it.
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