Qué vs. Cuál in Spanish

Many people are confused as to which interrogative form -- qué or cuál -- they should use when they want to say "what" and/or "which." This video covers several differences in usage.

[@alvarofavela2918]

I am a native Spanish speaker and I have problems using these two sometimes but you've explained it quite well on your video. Thanks Profe. :)

[@lizfisher3433]

That was the BEST explanation I have found yet! THANK YOU!

[@mahrozshaikh2919]

I have never come across any videos online that explain the intricacies of the Spanish language as clearly, simply and effectively as yours! Thank you for making sense out of it all ;)

[@Professorjason]

@TheDatsunKing I started getting interested way back in middle and high school, but really took a serious interest about 20 years ago. Thanks for the kind words.

[@JustinElkinsII]

As a new spanish teacher, I am learning to clean up my casual (sloppy) spanish. Your videos are terrific. On this one, I am happy to say I got all the answers correct. On others...not so much. Bad habits die hard!

[@seiferzion]

Again, you put the info out there in a straightforward manner that is much easier to understand than any text I've read.

[@Professorjason]

Muchas gracias por tu comentario, Denise. It's nice to hear from people eho find my videos helpful! Come join the Facebook group :) abrazos!

[@rezasoltanpour7864]

If I had money and not in so much school debt I would surely donate some money to your website as you are helping students like myself by posting these lessons free and giving us the opportunity to learn things free without requesting a dime. thank you, from behalf of everyone that you helped free. THANK YOU

[@siegfriedbraun5447]

I wish we'd come across your work two years ago! Better late than never, but what a great augmentation to our in-class work.

[@JimQool]

I found this video very helpful. Each time I view the video my understanding of when to use "Que" versus "Cual" improves. Thanks!

[@bellydancer0501]

Thank you! I got all of them right! And now the difference is more cleared up for me. :)

[@missmrgay]

these videos have been so helpful, and i especially like the little quiz in this one. i think quizzes should be included in all future videos

[@bornfortravel303]

En mi modesta opinión, en la prueba (quiz) falta el contexto a varias preguntas. Sin el contexto es posible usar en ciertos casos "qué" o "cuál". Por ejemplo, en la pregunta 1) Si se pregunta por la definición de felicidad, se debe usar "que". Entonces la pregunta sería ¿Qué es la felicidad, realmente? pero si se está hablando de distintos tipos de felicidad en una conversación, entonces se puede usar "cuál". Por ejemplo, Juan dice "La felicidad es tener dinero". Pedro dice, no "La felicidad es tener paz interior". José dice en cambio "La felicidad es hacer lo que amamos". Entonces, María puede preguntarse: "¿Cuál es la felicidad, realmente?. Y así para la pregunta 3) admite qué o cuál. 7) admite qué o cuál dado que no hay un contexto en ambas preguntas.

[@Jeffcoaster]

Thank you SO much! This has something that has confused me for over ten years.

[@TheDatsunKing]

I know you're a professor and all, but when did you actually start studying Spanish? :) I love your videos, gracias por todo!

[@Grandeurofthemind]

Thank you so much! Your spanish is fantastic and this really helped me prep for this section on my final exam.

[@thoban1724]

i started with the understanding that cual meant which and que what. this vid is a big help.

[@MattyGlobal]

Hi Professor Jason, I think that your video's are fantastic, I intend to watch all of them and they will help me so much. I have a question at approx (08:30 minutes), It says Cuál va escoger ? ..... Should this be Cúal va a escogar ? as I was always lead to believe or maybe you could explain why in this case we dont need the 'a' after the 'going' part. Keep up the great work ! :)

[@michaelbeauparlant4373]

professor Jason your explanation on this matter was good. you simplified it perfectly!Thank you!

[@veroniquezamoranogrenzdorf3169]

Thank you for the explanation, it was very helpful. Best wishes from Marbella....

[@alemanaheyhey]

Thank you so much, this lesson was very clean, informative and helpful.

[@Professorjason]

@ScientiaVeritasEtLux Hola amigo! Great question. And a good idea for a new video: adjective placement. For now, try googling "Adjective placement in Spanish"... There are a few exceptions to the usual rule. good to see you again!

[@lpdpNoblesville]

This KZbin really helped me. You did a wonderful job of explaining when to use ¿cuál? and when to use ¿qué?. Thank you!

[@aliciacisneros2834]

Gracias por su aclaracion profesor Jason. It was very useful to better clarify to my students.

[@FreedomToPeople]

Prof. Jason. This new format is more comprehensive then the one with the white-board. I suggest to speak a bit slower. to give time for the students to read both Spanish & English texts and digest the sentence before moving on to the next one. thanks Levi

[@bjjatan]

i love you for making these, your the man!

[@darrenma4123]

Thanks Jason , you are a great professer , you talk so clearly , but i am just a starter , some time s still need time to learn hard

[@junghull3266]

Hola! ¡Me gustan sus videos! Quiero saber de donde es Ud.? Gracias por este video! Fue muy útil.

[@TheFranko2010]

Although I passed the test with flying colors, I noticed that "Cual" is more associated with any anything to do with a numbers or specific quantity and "Que" with just the opposite. Is this a legitimate hypothesis?

[@Msthoro1]

In agreement, you always explain things so clear

[@MrCdorsey]

Of all the words in the world you could’ve pick, you pick that one? Wow!

[@Professorjason]

What are you referring to?

[@MrCdorsey]

Professor Jason defenestrar

[@weekendupnate]

Would "Of These" be a correct way of correlating this rule to English? For example, "What of these....." is always incorrect. But, we will often say "Which of these should I wear?"

[@JasonJolley71]

I think so. Anytime the idea of "of this selection/group" is implied, especially a limited number of items, then cuál definitely sounds better, I think.

[@flopondia]

It's very helpful to explain with examples, but still, it might be practical to also mention the formula QUÉ + verb or noun and CUÁL + verb. That way, I can double check my answers by looking at the formula.

[@steveoates8636]

Thanks - confusing but your lesson has helped me alot

[@antoinevagneur-jones1385]

Thanks for doing this, these are fantastic.

[@gascoignegs]

Hello professor, and thank you for your quality work! I got all the questions correct, except for #7 for which I guessed cuales, it seemed to be like your example of "cuales son los mejores restaurantes" Would you be kind enough to specify the difference, and why I should prefer que over cuales (as opposed to the example) for the quiz question #7? Thank you!

[@rayzong7]

for question no 4, you mentioned that when Ser is used, it's always cual, but the first one used que as definition. Could you please clarify?

[@3Oh3metrostation]

muchas gracias profesor

[@vathumuttai]

Thank your prof. Jason for uploading this lesson. It was very helpful. I have question. When you say "cual leiste ? which are you reading and if I say "que leiste ? can it not be what are you reading? Thanks!

[@Professorjason]

@sunshoweruk That's a typo. There should be an "a"... Good catch!

[@ChannelRiley]

Hi Professor Jason, whenever someone asks about Que vs Qual in Portuguese (over in the Duolingo website) I post this video and suggest that the ideas are probably the same. How much of this video do you think can be applied to Portuguese? Thank you in advance :)

[@Professorjason]

Thanks, that's an extremely kind comment. I appreciate it!

[@markboettger5867]

¡Excelente! Gracias. Me ayudó mucho.

[@CheeseNPretzel]

Extremely helpful, thank you!

[@magomiquelc.chriest4299]

I love this video!

[@adipatiakang29]

muchas grasias professor jason por el leccion. la español idioma es deficil ( i mean defficult ) paro yo me quero hablar de español, thank you.

[@Professorjason]

@missygreff Haha... Missy, It shouldn't be too hard for a smart woman like you! No worries! See you in a few weeks!

[@lobabashehab8824]

this is pretty much helpful ! SKUKRYA :D

[@moonfirelight9]

Muchas gracias. Eso me ayuda.

[@Professorjason]

De nada :)

[@spanishclasses4013]

Great! Thank you!

[@jundialhaqiqa9907]

Muy util, gracias.

[@zeegary]

Many thanks for your informative videos. I'm a tad confused about your claim that cual is used with 'es', and yet your very first example in the que section features 'es' (3:34)

[@magomiquelc.chriest4299]

Bravo!!!

[@w100388]

its very useful thx `!!!!

[@clarittana]

true

[@kmccar94588]

Thanks. Very helpful

[@Androbott]

tales, cuales, cuales y tales.

[@nh-vb8ij]

Muy util

[@wolche1978]

nice

[@PurpelVikes28]

that didnt make a shit of sense damnit

[@missmrgay]

these videos have been so helpful, and i especially like the little quiz in this one. i think quizzes should be included in all future videos