Question Words in Catalan

Overview

Question words (also called interrogatives) are the tools you use to ask open-ended questions — questions that cannot be answered with just "yes" or "no." At the A1 level, mastering these words opens up a huge range of conversational possibilities.

Catalan question words all carry accent marks in their written form, which distinguishes them from their non-interrogative counterparts. For example, què (what?) has an accent, while que (that) does not. This accent rule is consistent and helps you recognize question words in writing.

The basic question words are: què (what), qui (who), on (where), quan (when), com (how), per què (why), quant/a/s/es (how much/many), and quin/a/s/es (which). Each one unlocks a different type of information.

How It Works

Question Words

Catalan	English	Example
què	what	Què vols? (What do you want?)
qui	who	Qui és? (Who is it?)
on	where	On vius? (Where do you live?)
quan	when	Quan véns? (When are you coming?)
com	how	Com estàs? (How are you?)
per què	why	Per què no véns? (Why aren't you coming?)
quant/a	how much	Quant costa? (How much does it cost?)
quants/es	how many	Quants anys tens? (How old are you?)
quin/a	which	Quin dia? (Which day?)
quins/es	which (pl.)	Quines llengües parles? (Which languages do you speak?)

Agreement in "quant" and "quin"

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	quant / quin	quanta / quina
Plural	quants / quins	quantes / quines

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Què vols?	What do you want?	Basic question
Qui és?	Who is it?	Identifying someone
On vius?	Where do you live?	Location
Quants anys tens?	How old are you?	Agreement: quants (m.pl.)
Com et dius?	What's your name?	Literally "How do you call yourself?"
Per què estudies català?	Why do you study Catalan?	Reason
Quan és la festa?	When is the party?	Time
Quina hora és?	What time is it?	Feminine: quina
Quines pel·lícules t'agraden?	Which films do you like?	Feminine plural
D'on ets?	Where are you from?	With preposition
A quina hora surt el tren?	At what time does the train leave?	Prepositional question
Quant costa?	How much does it cost?	Price

Common Mistakes

Confusing "per què" (why) with "perquè" (because)

• Question: Per què estudies català? (Why do you study Catalan?)
• Answer: Perquè m'agrada. (Because I like it.)
• Why: "Per què" (two words, with accent) asks "why." "Perquè" (one word, no accent on "per") answers "because."

Forgetting agreement with "quin" and "quant"

• Wrong: Quin hora és?
• Right: Quina hora és?
• Why: "Hora" is feminine, so the question word must be in its feminine form: quina.

Using "què" instead of "quin" before a noun

• Wrong: Què dia és avui?
• Right: Quin dia és avui?
• Why: Before a noun, use "quin/a/s/es" (which). Use "què" when standing alone: "Què és això?"

Practice Tips

1. For each question word, write three questions you might ask in daily life. Then practice answering them: "On vius?" — "Visc a Barcelona."
2. Practice the "per què / perquè" distinction in pairs: ask "Per què...?" and answer with "Perquè..."
3. Use "quin/quina" to practice gender agreement: "Quin llibre vols?" (m.) "Quina pel·lícula prefereixes?" (f.)

Related Concepts

• Negation and Questions — the broader topic of forming questions in Catalan
• Basic Expressions — common questions used in introductions and greetings