French quel and lequel

English has one workhorse, "which". French splits it into two words that do different jobs. quel is an adjective: it lives next to a noun and agrees with it. lequel is a pronoun: it replaces the noun and stands on its own. Get that split clear and the rest is agreement and a couple of contractions.

quel: the interrogative adjective

quel asks "which" or "what" in front of a noun. Like any French adjective it agrees in gender and number, giving four forms:

• Quel livre veux-tu? (Which book do you want?)
• Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?)
• Quels films as-tu vus? (Which films have you seen?)
• Quelles couleurs preferes-tu? (Which colours do you prefer?)

All four forms sound nearly identical out loud - the agreement is something you mostly write rather than hear, which is exactly why it slips in exam writing. The noun decides the spelling: film is masculine, so quel film; photo is feminine, so quelle photo.

quel separated from its noun

quel doesn't always sit glued to the noun. With est-ce que or after the verb it can be pulled apart, but it still agrees with the noun it questions:

• Quel est ton film prefere? (What is your favourite film?)
• Quelle est la difference? (What is the difference?)

quel in exclamations: "what a..."

The same quel turns a noun into an exclamation - English "what a...". French uses no article here: just quel + noun.

• Quel dommage! (What a pity!)
• Quelle surprise! (What a surprise!)
• Quel courage! (What courage!)
• Quels beaux jardins! (What beautiful gardens!)

Note there is no un / une: quelle surprise, not "quelle une surprise". English says "what a surprise"; French drops the article entirely. The agreement still tracks the noun.

quel + etre + noun: "what is...?"

When you ask "what is X?" and X is a noun, French reaches for quel est / quelle est, not qu'est-ce que. This is the pattern English speakers most often get wrong, because "what" tempts them toward que.

• Quelle est la question? (What is the question?)
• Quel est ton numero? (What is your number?)
• Quelle est ton adresse? (What is your address?)
• Quels sont les avantages? (What are the advantages?)

The rule: if "what" is followed by a noun ("what is the answer"), use quel est; if "what" is followed by a verb ("what happened", "what do you want"), use qu'est-ce qui / qu'est-ce que. Quelle est la reponse? but Qu'est-ce qui s'est passe?

lequel: the interrogative pronoun

lequel means "which one". It replaces quel + noun, so you use it when the noun is already understood and you don't want to repeat it. It carries the same gender and number as the noun it stands for, fused with the definite article:

• Lequel preferes-tu? (Which one do you prefer? - of some masculine thing)
• J'ai deux robes. Laquelle est la plus jolie? (I have two dresses. Which one is prettier?)
• Voici les livres; lesquels veux-tu? (Here are the books; which ones do you want?)
• De ces photos, lesquelles aimes-tu? (Of these photos, which ones do you like?)

You can hear the agreement in lequel more than in quel, because the le / la / les inside it is audible.

quel vs lequel: the dividing line

The test is whether a noun follows:

• quel is an adjective and needs a noun beside it: Quel livre? (Which book?)
• lequel is a pronoun and stands alone, the noun gone: Lequel? (Which one?)

So the conversation runs: - Je veux un livre. - Lequel? (I want a book. - Which one?) You'd never say "Quel?" on its own, and you'd never say "Lequel livre?" with a noun stuck on. One needs the noun, the other replaces it.

lequel with a and de: the contractions

lequel contracts with the prepositions a and de exactly as the definite article does (a + le = au, de + le = du). Three of the four forms contract; the feminine singular is the one that escapes.

With a:

With de:

• Auquel penses-tu? (Which one are you thinking of? - a + lequel, masc sg)
• A laquelle penses-tu? (Which one are you thinking of? - no contraction, fem sg)
• Duquel parles-tu? (Which one are you talking about? - de + lequel)
• Desquelles as-tu besoin? (Which ones do you need? - de + lesquelles)

Only the feminine singular (a laquelle, de laquelle) stays uncontracted, which is the one detail to memorise. The verb you're using decides which preposition you need: penser a quelque chose drives auquel; parler de quelque chose and avoir besoin de drive duquel.

Worked examples

• Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui? (What is the weather like today?)
• Quelle est la capitale de la France? (What is the capital of France?)
• Quels sont tes passe-temps preferes? (What are your favourite hobbies?)
• Quelle bonne idee! (What a good idea!)
• Il y a trois trains; lequel prends-tu? (There are three trains; which one are you taking?)
• Voici deux solutions; laquelle choisis-tu? (Here are two solutions; which one do you choose?)
• Auquel de ces problemes penses-tu? (Which of these problems are you thinking of?)
• Desquels de ces outils as-tu besoin? (Which of these tools do you need?)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Using qu'est-ce que when a noun follows: Qu'est-ce que ton adresse? is wrong, it's Quelle est ton adresse? - "what is" plus a noun wants quel est. Failing to agree quel: quel heure is wrong because heure is feminine, so it's quelle heure. Adding an article in exclamations: quelle une surprise is wrong, French drops it - quelle surprise. Sticking a noun on lequel: lequel livre is wrong - if a noun is there, use quel livre; lequel stands alone. And forgetting the contractions: a lequel and de lesquels are wrong, they contract to auquel and desquels - only the feminine singular a laquelle / de laquelle stays apart.

See also

• The French questions page covers est-ce que, inversion, and qu'est-ce qui / qu'est-ce que, the verb-following "what".
• The French articles page covers the a + le = au and de + le = du contractions that lequel mirrors.
• The French grammar cheatsheet covers the wider A1-B2 grammar map.