French question words help you ask who, what, where, when, why and how. The most useful are qui, que, quoi, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien and quel. You can use them with a rising tone, est-ce que or inversion to form clear questions in everyday French.
If you are still learning basic sentence patterns, start with FAYLI’s beginner-friendly French grammar guide. Then use the examples below to practise asking real questions.
The Main French Question Words
Qui: who
Use qui when you are asking about a person. It can be the subject or the object of the question.
Qui parle ? — Who is speaking?
Avec qui vas-tu au cinéma ? — Who are you going to the cinema with?
Que and quoi: what
Que usually comes before a subject and verb. Quoi often appears after a preposition or at the end of an informal question.
Que fais-tu ? — What are you doing?
Tu parles de quoi ? — What are you talking about? This form is common in conversation.
Où: where
Use où to ask about a place or destination. Do not confuse it with ou, without an accent, which means “or”.
Où habitez-vous ? — Where do you live?
Où est la gare ? — Where is the station?
Quand: when
Quand asks about a time, date or moment.
Quand commence le cours ? — When does the class start?
Tu arrives quand ? — When are you arriving? Placing quand at the end sounds informal.
Pourquoi: why
Use pourquoi to ask for a reason. The answer often begins with parce que, meaning “because”.
Pourquoi apprenez-vous le français ? — Why are you learning French?
Pourquoi est-ce qu’il part ? — Why is he leaving?
Comment: how
Comment asks about a method, condition or description.
Comment allez-vous ? — How are you?
Comment est-ce que ça marche ? — How does it work?
Combien: how much or how many
Use combien for quantities and prices. Add de before a noun.
Combien ça coûte ? — How much does it cost?
Combien de langues parlez-vous ? — How many languages do you speak?
Quel: which or what
Quel comes before a noun and agrees with it. The forms are quel, quelle, quels and quelles.
Quel livre préfères-tu ? — Which book do you prefer?
Quelle heure est-il ? — What time is it?
Three Ways to Ask Questions in French
1. Use your voice
In casual speech, you can keep normal sentence order and raise your voice at the end.
Tu viens ce soir ? — Are you coming tonight?
2. Use est-ce que
Est-ce que is clear, neutral and useful in both spoken and written French.
Est-ce que tu viens ce soir ? — Are you coming tonight?
3. Use inversion
Inversion places the verb before the subject pronoun. It sounds more formal.
Viens-tu ce soir ? — Are you coming tonight?
Question words often work together with pronouns. Review how to use French pronouns if you need help choosing or positioning them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Do not translate every English question word directly. French word order changes depending on the question style. Remember to use de after combien before a noun, and make quel agree with the noun. In formal writing, avoid relying only on a rising tone.
Practise Asking Questions with FAYLI
Knowing the words is only the first step. In FAYLI’s online French lessons, you can practise natural questions with a native-speaking teacher from anywhere.
Learners in Paris can choose private French tuition in the Marais or join interactive small-group French classes for regular conversation practice. Choose the format that suits your goals and start asking questions with greater confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common French question words?
The most common French question words are qui, que, quoi, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien and quel. They ask about people, things, places, time, reasons, methods, quantities and choices.
What is the easiest way to ask a question in French?
For beginners, est-ce que is often the easiest structure because you can place it before a normal statement. For example: Est-ce que vous parlez français ?
What is the difference between que and quoi?
Que usually appears before a subject and verb, while quoi commonly follows a preposition or appears at the end of an informal question.
