“Who” is a good word to know in any language. You can enquire as to who certain people are, who owns certain objects, or even who wants to go to the shops.
With that in mind, how do you say “who” in Spanish, and what other useful phrases and words can you learn?
How to Say “Who” in Spanish
The Spanish translation of “who” is quién. It is a pronoun used in a similar way as the English word, but with one major difference.
Many times, you will see the word que used in its place. Que is “what”, but it stands in for quién in many phrases where English would use “who”. This includes phrases that reference a person.
For instance, in English we might say:
“My brother, (who) is thirty, is a teacher.”
In Spanish, that “who” becomes “that” (que):
Mi hermano, (que) tiene treinta años, es profesor.
One of the times that we can use quién is as an interrogative. For instance:
- Who did this? = ¿Quien hizo esto?
- Who are you? = ¿Quién eres?
- Hello, who is calling? = ¿Hola, ¿Quién llama?
It can be difficult to wrap your head around this when you first start learning, but it all falls into place fairly quickly.
On the plus side, quién is not gender-specific and the only time you need to change the word is when you’re using it as a plural.
So, you use quién if you’re asking, “who are you?” (¿Quién eres?) but you use quiénes if you’re asking, “who are they?” (¿Quiénes son?).
How to Say “Whose” in Spanish
We’ve addressed how to say “who”, but what about “whose”?
There are a couple of words that we need here.
With the first, we just need to add the preposition de before quién. So, if you want to ask, “whose are these clothes?” you say ¿De quién es esta ropa?
We can also switch to plural forms if it’s assumed that there is more than one owner, such as one coat owned by one person vs multiple coats owned by multiple people:
- Whose coat is this? = ¿De quién es este abrigo?
- Whose coats are these? = ¿De quiénes son estos abrigos?
If you want to express possession or relation, as in the sentence, “This is the cat whose owner lives next to my friend” you need cuyo.
Cuyo is also used to reference inanimate objects, much like we would use the words “of which” or “in which”. So:
- The shopping center that will be built soon, the timeframe of which is yet to be determined, will cost over 1 million EUROs. = El centro comercial que se construirá próximamente y cuyo plazo aún está por determinar, costará más de 1 millón de euros.
Cuyois gender-specific (cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas) and the gender relates to the noun that it describes, as opposed to the person who owns that thing.
Other Useful Spanish Words to Know
- Why = por qué
- How = cómo
- When = cuándo
- What = qué
- Did you? = ¿acaso tú?
- Can You? = ¿puedes?
Examples of Who and Whose in Sentences
To ensure these words stick in your memory, take a look at the following phrases. It helps to say them slowly, repeat them, and visualize relevant images as you do so.
- Who is the best footballer in Spain? = ¿Quién es el mejor futbolista de españa?
- Who has the best food in Argentina? = ¿Quién tiene la mejor comida de argentina?
- Who would have thought it! = ¡Quién lo hubiera dicho!
- Whose pets are these? = ¿De quién son estas mascotas?
- Whose birthday is it today? = ¿De quién es el cumpleaños hoy?
- Whose house will we be staying at tonight? = ¿En la casa de quién nos quedaremos esta noche?
- Who cares about that? = ¿A quién le importa eso?
- You must pay at the door, unless you are a member, in which case you just need to show your card. = Debes pagar en puerta, a menos que seas socio, en cuyo caso solo necesitas mostrar tu tarjeta.
- Who wants to go out for food tonight? = ¿Quién quiere salir a comer esta noche?
- Who knows! = ¡quién sabe!
- Who wants some of my famous paella? = ¿Quién quiere un poco de mi famosa paella?
- This is the series of which the first chapter is poetry and the second is prose = Esta es la serie cuyo primer capítulo es poesía y el segundo es prosa.
- Who did you give it to? = ¿A quién se lo diste?
- Who were you with last night? = ¿Con quién estabas anoche?
Learning How to Say “Who” and Other Question Words in Spanish
Question words are very important when you first learn Spanish. Language learners often fall into the trap of merely reacting to what’s being said and not actually offering any questions themselves.
They feel more comfortable when they let someone else control the conversation. That way, they can respond with one or two-word answers if they need to, and they don’t feel as embarrassed if they get something wrong.
There’s also a worry that if you ask a question, the other person won’t fully understand that you’re just learning and will therefore answer as if you were native.
But that’s what the learning process is all about. You must be prepared to feel a little awkward. And don’t worry about looking stupid. Everyone has to start somewhere and no one is going to think less of you because you have to ask them to repeat themselves.
Let go of your ego for a moment, think of yourself as a curious child who doesn’t know anything and makes a lot of mistakes. It’s the only way to reach a point where you feel comfortable speaking the language, and once you’re asking questions and engaging in conversation, you’re well on your way to fluency.
For more guides that will help you through those early stages, check out this post on how to say “I Don’t Know” in Spanish, three words that can serve you very well in the early stages. Our guide to asking “How Did You Sleep” and similar phrases will also serve you well.