Quel, quelle, quels, quelles: how to say which in French

French uses quel, quelle, quels, quelles for “which” or “what” before a noun. The form agrees with the noun’s gender and number: quel for masculine singular, quelle for feminine singular, quels for masculine plural, and quelles for feminine plural. Choose the form from the noun, not from the person asking.

Use the noun to choose the form

Quel behaves like an adjective. It points to a noun, so it must match that noun.

Quel film veux-tu voir ?
Which movie do you want to see?

Quelle table est libre ?
Which table is free?

The English word “which” does not change, so English speakers often forget the agreement. In French, the noun controls everything.

It can mean “which” or “what”

Before a noun, quel often translates as “which”, but it can also be “what” in English.

Quel âge as-tu ?
How old are you? (literally: what age do you have?)

Quelle couleur préfères-tu ?
What color do you prefer?

Do not translate word by word; ask whether the French word is pointing to a noun.

With être: quel is still tied to the noun

Quel can also appear with être:

Quelle est ton adresse ?
What is your address?

Quels sont vos projets ?
What are your plans?

Even here, the noun decides the form: adresse is feminine singular, projets is masculine plural.

Common mistakes

Using quel for every noun

Quel is only masculine singular.

Quel question as-tu ? → Quelle question as-tu ?
What question do you have?

Matching the speaker instead of the noun

The speaker’s gender does not matter. The noun does.

Quelle est ton numéro ? → Quel est ton numéro ?
What is your number?

Forgetting plural agreement

Plural nouns need quels or quelles, even when the final s is silent.

Quelle livres veux-tu ? → Quels livres veux-tu ?
Which books do you want?

This agreement works like the noun matching you already see with mon, ma and mes: the small word changes because the noun changes. In Fluera you choose the form inside real questions, so quel train and quelle heure become linked to the noun instead of memorized as four isolated words. Try it when you practice French.

Practice