You’ve mastered a few basic questions in Spanish and you’re wondering how to take your conversations and transactions to the next level. The key to going “off-script” and contributing fully to a conversation is the ability to form your own questions. While it is definitely possible to ask yes and no questions in Spanish without having to use interrogative words, life gets much more interesting when you’re able to dive into the specifics! To do so, you’ll need to know these eight fundamental words and phrases:
- Qué (What)
- Cómo (How)
- Dónde (Where)
- Cuándo (When)
- Por qué (Why)
- Quién (Who)
- Cuánto / Cuántos (How much / How many)
- Cuál (Which)
Below, we’ll take a look at the usage of each word and provide a list of phrases for each. If you want to expand your Spanish skills—without memorizing long vocabulary lists—Rosetta Stone’s uniquely immersive lessons are an amazing tool for boosting your knowledge. Whether you’re interested in learning Latin American Spanish or Peninsular (Spain) Spanish, Rosetta Stone has everything you need to feel conversation-ready from your very first lesson!
What is an interrogative word?
Put simply, interrogative words are question words. They are used to form specific informational questions. You might relate this to the English word “interrogation,” where a subject of an interview is asked a series of questions. Their grammatical function in the question could be that of a pronoun, adjective, or adverb. Consider the following examples:
¿Quién es tu hermano? = Who is your brother?
This is an interrogative pronoun, as it is a substitute for the answer, a person.
¿Cuántos libros tienes? = How many books do you have?
This is an interrogative adjective, because it is modifying the noun “books.”
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? = When is your birthday?
This is an interrogative adverb, because it is asking for a time.
Thankfully, if you’re more interested in how to ask questions in Spanish than memorizing Spanish grammar rules, the translations of these important words are straightforward. In some cases the translations can depend on the context or grammar of the sentence.
One important rule to keep in mind is that all Spanish interrogatives carry the accent mark. You may find an almost identical word in a statement, but it will not be a question word.
¿Dónde está la profesora? = Where is the teacher?
This interrogative word carries the accent mark, since it is asking for information.
Ella está en la ciudad donde nació. = She is in the town where she was born.
This adverb is simply referring to a specific place, so no accent mark is used.
The most common Spanish question words
1. ¿Qué?
¿Qué? means “what.” From meal planning to sightseeing, you’ll want to know what specific nouns should be on your list. Here are several common questions you can use to find out the essentials:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Qué sitios debería visitar cuando estoy en Málaga? | What places should I visit when I’m in Málaga? |
| ¿Qué necesito para viajar a Buenos Aires? | What do I need in order to travel to Buenos Aires? |
| ¿Qué platos son típicos en Costa Rica? | What dishes/meals are typical in Costa Rica? |
| ¿Qué hay que hacer antes de viajar? | What must be done before traveling? |
| ¿Qué recomienda usted para desayunar? | What do you recommend for breakfast? |
| ¿Qué podríamos ver en el parque zoológico? | What could we see at the zoo? |
| ¿Qué ha dicho? | What did he say? |
| ¿Qué te gusta comer por la mañana? | What do you like to eat in the morning? |
| ¿Qué sueles llevar cuando sales? | What do you normally wear when you go out? |
It should be noted that ¿Qué? can mean “what?” in most cases, but it isn’t always used the same way as in English. If you’re in a loud environment with a friend, you might yell, “What?” if you don’t hear something well the first time. You wouldn’t want to translate this to ¿Qué?, as this could be considered a somewhat rude response in Spanish. It is more appropriate to ask:
¿Cómo? = What?
¿Perdón? = Pardon?
In a formal context, you might say:
¿(Usted) puede repetir, por favor? = Can you repeat, please?
Keep in mind that que without an accent mark is not a question word. It can be the relative pronoun “that” as in the following example:
Voy a tomar el café que me recomendaste.
I’m going to have the coffee that you recommended.
¡Qué! is also commonly used as an exclamation in basic Spanish phrases such as:
¡Qué bonito! = How cute!
¡Qué interesante! = How interesting!
One of the most basic Spanish questions is also an example of when “what” would not be literally translated to ¿qué? When we want to ask, “What is your name?” we say:
¿Cómo te llamas? = (literally) How do you call yourself?
2. ¿Cómo?
¿Cómo? simply translated means “how.” From getting around a city to preparing food, you’ll have questions about processes. You can ask for descriptions and characteristics to get to know people and your surroundings, and you can show interest by asking how people are doing. Here are several common questions you can use to navigate through your day.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cómo? | How? / What? |
| ¿Cómo llegas a la estación de metro? | How do you get to the subway station? |
| ¿Cómo preparas el arroz con leche? | How do you prepare the rice pudding? |
| ¿Cómo se dice ___ en español? | How do you say ___ in Spanish? |
| ¿Cómo es la escuela? | What is the school like? |
| ¿Cómo es la vecina? | What is the neighbor like? |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you feeling? |
| ¿Cómo te sientes? | How do you feel? |
| ¿Cómo está la sopa? | How is the soup? (What does it taste like?) |
| ¿Cómo sabes? | How do you know? |
As you can see, ¿cómo? as a question word always has an accent, and can provide additional detail or clarification. It can also be used in sometimes confusing idiomatic expressions!
¿Cómo no? = Why not? Of course! (Agreement)
¿Cómo que no? = What do you mean “no?” (Disbelief or surprise)
The addition of the que in the above examples changes the meaning drastically, so it is best to learn these expressions as complete phrases.
Like ¡qué!, ¡cómo! can be used as an exclamation when placed in front of a verb.
¡Cómo me ha gustado! = How I loved it!
¡Cómo baila! = How he dances!
If you encounter como without an accent, the meaning will depend greatly on the context and surrounding words, or whether it is a verb, a conjunction, or part of a phrase, as in these examples:
- Lo hago como me enseñó mi mamá. = I do it how my mom taught me.
- La niña habla como una mujer. = The little girl speaks like an adult woman.
- Él es tan listo como su hermano. = He is as clever as his brother.
- Como a mí no me gusta el frío, no esquío.= Since I don’t like the cold, I don’t ski.
- Costó como cincuenta dólares. = It cost about fifty dollars.
- Normalmente no como azúcar. = Normally I don’t eat sugar.
In the final example, como (I eat) is the first-person singular (yo form) of the verb comer (to eat).
3. ¿Dónde?
¿Dónde? means “where.” If you want to know where an event is happening, or where you should buy a gift, this question word will help you locate people, objects, places, and events. Here are several common questions you can use to find what you need:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Dónde? | Where? |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | Where is the bathroom? |
| ¿Dónde están los servicios? | Where are the restrooms? |
| ¿Dónde queda tu casa? | Where is your house located? |
| ¿Dónde nos quedamos esta noche? | Where are we staying tonight? |
| ¿Dónde es la boda? | Where is the wedding taking place? |
Like all other Spanish interrogatives, dónde needs an accent mark, even if the question is indirect, such as:
Me preguntó dónde estaba. = He asked me where I was.
It can also be used without the accent, as in these non-interrogative examples:
Visité la universidad donde estudió mi padre. = I visited the university where my father studied.
Todavía no tengo donde dormir. = I still don’t have a place to sleep.
4. ¿Cuándo?
Cuando means “when.” From the next milestone soccer match to your friend’s birthday party, you’ll want to know when things are happening, so you can make it there on time! Here are several common questions you can use for time questions.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? | When is your birthday? |
| ¿Cuándo empieza el partido? | When does the match begin? |
| ¿Cuándo debemos entregar la tarea? | When do we have to hand in the assignment? |
| ¿Cuándo aprendiste el italiano? | When did you learn Italian? |
| ¿Cuándo estará disponible? | When will it be available? |
| ¿Cuándo llegaste? | When did you arrive? |
The conjunction cuando (when) can be used in examples like the following:
Duermo bien cuando llueve. = I sleep well when it rains.
Avísame cuando llegue. = Let me know when you arrive.
Rarely, you may see cuando used as a preposition without an obvious English translation.
Apaga la llama cuando hervir. = Turn off the flame when boiling (happens).
5. ¿Por qué?
¿Por qué? means “why?” If explanation is what you seek, look no further than ¿por qué? (why?) and its relative, porque (because). Get the answers to these common burning questions and more, when you ask for reasons. You can also make suggestions and accept invitations using this helpful question word.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| Porque | Because |
| ¿Por qué el vuelo está retrasado? | Why is the flight delayed? |
| ¿Por qué no aceptan dinero en efectivo? | Why don’t they accept cash? |
| ¿Por qué decidiste aprender inglés? | Why did you decide to learn English? |
| ¿Por qué no viniste a la reunión? | Why didn’t you come to the meeting? |
| ¿Por qué cuesta tanto? | Why does it cost so much? |
| ¿Por qué no vamos al parque? | Why don’t we go to the park? |
When pronounced, ¿por qué? (why?) and porque (because) are identical, so it may seem tricky to remember the differences in writing. Thankfully, the answer is simple: The question word has an accent mark, a space, and a question mark. “Because” has none of the three.
Like all of the other interrogatives, ¿por qué? has an accent mark. This is true even for reported questions, such as:
- Me preguntó por qué llegó tarde. = He asked me why I arrived late.
- Take note of el porqué (the reason for).
- Me preguntó el porqué de mi elección. = He asked me the reason for my choice.
- ¿Para qué? is closely related to ¿por qué? and has to do with the difference between por (for) and para (for, in order to).
- ¿Para qué sirve esta cosa? = What is this thing for?
6. ¿Cuánto?
¿Cuánto? and ¿Cuántos? mean “how much” or “how many,” respectively. From shopping and spending to cooking and planning, you’ll want to ask for quantities and amounts. Note that these two questions words must match gender and plurality, and have two other forms: ¿Cuánta? and ¿Cuántas? Here are several common questions you can use to quantify and calculate.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta? | How much? |
| ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas? | How many? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta el aceite? | How much does the oil cost? |
| ¿Cuánto arroz quieres? | How much rice do you want? |
| ¿Cuánta harina necesitamos? | How much flour do we need? |
| ¿Cuántos kilos de manzanas compraste? | How many kilos of apples did you buy? |
| ¿Cuántas enchiladas hay en el plato? | How many enchiladas are there on the plate? |
| ¿Cuánto pagaste por el billete? | How much did you pay for the ticket? |
A simple question you may have learned early on is “How old are you?” In Spanish, you are actually asking a question about quantity:
¿Cuántos años tienes? = How many years do you have?
As you can see in each of the examples above, this Spanish interrogative functions like an adjective. It must agree with the noun that it modifies (or replaces) in both gender and number. If something is considered “uncountable,” you use ¿Cuánto? or ¿Cuánta? (how much), but if it is countable, you would use ¿Cuántos? or ¿Cuántas?, always choosing between the masculine and feminine forms.
¿Cuánto dinero necesito? = How much money do I need?
¿Cuántas faldas tienes? = How many skirts do you have?
7. ¿Quién?
¿Quién? means “who.” You will also see the plural ¿Quiénes? when you’re asking about more than one person. When learning new names or surveying a crowd, find out who the characters are!
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Quién? | Who? (the answer is one person) |
| ¿Quiénes? | Who? (the answer is more than one person) |
| ¿Quién es el presidente de Chile? | Who is the President of Chile? |
| ¿Quién hizo el pastel? | Who made the cake? |
| ¿Quiénes son tus primos? | Who are your cousins? |
| ¿Quiénes viven aquí? | Who lives here? |
| ¿Quién ganó? | Who won? |
Like all interrogatives, ¿quién? and ¿quiénes? are spelled with an accent mark. Without it, the words might function as a relative pronoun in the sentence, like these examples:
La persona involucrada, quien robó el banco, ha desaparecido.
The person involved, who robbed the bank, has disappeared.
No dejes entrar a quienes llevan zapatos sucios.
Don’t let anyone enter who is wearing dirty shoes.
8. ¿Cuál?
¿Cuál? means “which.” It is also used in many cases to express “what?” Unfortunately ¿qué? (what) and ¿cuál? are not always interchangeable. You’ll use this expression frequently to offer choices, or to distinguish between options! Here are several common questions you can use to decide between options.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuál? | Which? What? |
| ¿Cuáles? | Which ones? |
| ¿Cuál es tu nombre? | What is your name? |
| ¿Cuál es tu numero? | What is your number? |
| ¿Cuál prefieres? | Which one do you prefer? |
| ¿Cuál es la estación más cercana? | Which is the closest station? |
| ¿Cuáles son los países con más hispanohablantes en el mundo? | Which are the countries with the most Spanish-speakers in the world? |
| ¿Cuáles son tuyos? | Which ones are yours? |
| ¿Cuáles son tus comidas favoritas? | What are your favorite foods? |
| ¿Cuál es tu película favorita? | What is your favorite movie? |
Generally speaking, you would use ¿Cuál? or the plural ¿Cuáles? when you want to choose between multiple options, even if the options are almost unlimited. You also see this usage when it is followed by a form of ser (to be).
Take note that in some Spanish dialects, both of the following questions sound correct.
¿Qué deporte te gusta más? = What sport do you like most?
¿Cuál deporte te gusta más? = Which sport do you like most?
However, though both are officially accepted, many Spanish speakers only use ¿Qué? (what) directly in front of a noun.
¿Qué color prefieres? = What color do you prefer?
¿Cuál es tu color favorito? = Which is your favorite color?
Once again, you may come across cual as a relative pronoun, which means it will not have an accent mark.
El piso en el cual vivíamos era pequeño. = The flat in which we lived was small.
What are the differences between how questions are formed in Spanish and English?
Preposition placement
Word order is often different between languages. Proper preposition placement in Spanish always places the preposition before the verb. There isn’t the tendency, even in casual speech, to end with a preposition.
In addition, there are many times that a preposition might be necessary in one language but absent in the other.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿De dónde eres? | Where are you from? |
| ¿A quién hablabas? | To whom were you speaking? Who were you talking to? |
| ¿A qué hora tienes clase? | At what time do you have class? |
| ¿Desde cuándo vive usted aquí? | Since when do you live here? How long have you been living here? |
| ¿Para quién es el regalo? | Who is the gift for? |
| ¿Adónde vas? ¿A dónde vas? | Where are you going? |
| ¿Qué escuchas? | What are you listening to? |
| ¿De quién es este coche? | Whose car is this? |
Gender
On our list of Spanish interrogatives, the only one to require gender agreement is ¿Cuánto? (how much – masculine) and ¿Cuánta? (how much – feminine) which must also agree in number, changing to ¿Cuántos? (how many – masculine) and ¿Cuántas? (how many – feminine).
Including an emphatic verb
Spanish questions don’t use the verb “do” or “does” as an auxiliary verb! Check out these examples and compare:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Dónde venden lápices y bolígrafos? | Where do they sell pencils and pens? |
| ¿Por qué no hablamos mañana? | Why don’t we talk tomorrow? |
| ¿Qué usas para servir esto? | What do you use to serve this? |
| ¿Cuánto gano por hora? | How much do I make per hour? |
| ¿Por qué practicas tanto? | Why do you practice so much? |
| ¿Cuál prefiere? | Which does she prefer? |
In English, we use an emphatic verb to emphasize or affirm the action of the sentence.
I do study every morning. He does teach well. It’s still difficult.
In Spanish, this emphasis is accomplished with the word sí (yes) in front of the verb.
Yo sí estudio. Él sí enseña bien. Aún es difícil.
Intonation
Whereas English uses inversion to change some statements into questions, Spanish accomplishes this simply through the intonation of the sentence.
Hay tres sillas disponibles. = There are three chairs available.
¿Hay tres sillas disponibles? = Are there three chairs available?
Inversion in Spanish questions can take place simply because the word order is less strict in Spanish. All of these examples are equally valid.
¿Trabaja ella muchas horas? = Does she work many hours?
¿Ella trabaja muchas horas? = Does she work many hours?
¿Trabaja muchas horas ella? = Does she work many hours?
It is also equally valid to omit the personal pronoun altogether, if the subject is already known. This is because the conjugated verb indicates who is doing the action. It is appropriate to include the pronoun if clarification or emphasis is needed.
¿Trabajas muchas horas? = Do you work many hours?
¿Trabajas tú muchas horas? = Do you work many hours?
The upside-down question mark
The charming and distinctive upside-down question mark of Spanish sets it apart from other languages! It adds a touch of flair to written Spanish, and functions just like the intonation of your voice to indicate that a question is being asked instead of a statement.
In casual writing, the inverted question mark is often omitted to save time, but since the 18th century, the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) has recommended its use, alongside the inverted exclamation point.
Other languages, such as Galician and formerly Catalan, have also adopted the inverted question mark for use with longer questions. You may also see it written in regions where people have geographical or cultural ties to Peninsular Spanish, or with bilingual speakers of other languages who use it out of habit.
The inverted punctuation does not always begin the sentence. There are times that a question comes later in the sentence, so the punctuation frames only the question portion of the sentence.
Hablo tres idiomas, ¿y tú? = I speak three languages, and you?
Es hora de cenar, ¿no crees? = It’s time for dinner, don’t you think?
If a question also calls for emphasis, four symbols can be used, with one symbol on the outside and one on the inside.
¿¡En serio!? = Seriously?!
Question Tags
Spanish doesn’t use question tags in the same way as English, as in, “does he?” or “will I?” To confirm information, Spanish speakers employ the tags, ¿no? or ¿verdad?
Ella canta bien, ¿no? = She sings well, doesn’t she?
Es muy caro, ¿verdad? = It’s really expensive, right?
In these tags, the punctuation frames the tag question, not the entire sentence.
Form Spanish questions for real-life conversations
Posing the right question makes all the difference in turning an everyday encounter into a meaningful conversation. Knowing these simple eight question words in Spanish can help you build worthwhile connections with the people around you!
Ready to take the next step in your Spanish learning journey? Rosetta Stone has everything you need to grow your skills quickly and effectively—whether you’re just starting out or comfortable with more advanced territory. Immersive lessons help you learn in a fun, engaging way, and TruAccent helps you nail your pronunciation every time. Why wait?
Written by Jamie Edwards
Jamie is a learner and teacher of Spanish and French. When she’s not learning new words, you’ll find her on the soccer sidelines, ski slopes, and track and field bleachers enjoying the four seasons of Western New York.
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