Interrogative words or question words are words used to ask questions such as what, where, when, why, etc. In English, they are sometimes WH-words since most of them start with WH-. So how these interrogative or question words can be translated into Spanish? In this article, we will give you a list of Spanish question words with English translation. This list will make it easier for you when you start asking questions in Spanish.
List of Spanish question words or interrogative words
- What? - ¿Qué?
- When? - ¿Cuándo?
- Where? - ¿Dónde?
- Where…from? - ¿De dónde?
- Which? - ¿Cuál?
- Which ones? - ¿Cuales?
- Why? - ¿Por qué?
- Who? (one person) - ¿Quién?
- Who? (more than one person) - ¿Quiénes?
- To whom? - ¿A quién? / ¿A quienes? - for more than one person
- With whom? - ¿Con quién? (¿Con quienes? - for more than one person)
- Whose? - ¿De quién?
- How? - ¿Cómo?
- How much? - ¿Cuánto (for masculine) / ¿Cuánto (for feminine)
- How many? - ¿Cuántos (for masculine) / ¿Cuántas? (for feminine)
Check out gender rules in Spanish nouns for more information!
- How many times? - ¿Cuántas veces?
- How often? - ¿Cada cuándo?
For examples:
Where is the bathroom? - ¿Dónde está el baño?
Why do you ask? - ¿Por qué preguntas?
Where are you from? - ¿De dónde eres tú?
Which ones are yours? - ¿Cuáles son tuyos?
Intonation when asking a question in Spanish
While in English, most of the questions have a rising intonation at the end of a question, we don’t raise the pitch of our voice at the end of a question in Spanish. Instead, you ask interrogative words in a higher-pitched voice and drop your pitch for the rest of the question.
Spanish question punctuation marks
Another thing that you should bear in mind when writing a question in Spanish is that you need to add an upside-down question mark (¿) at the beginning of a sentence if you want to add a question mark (?) at the end.
For example: How do you know my name? ¿Cómo sabes tú mi nombre?
Asking questions without interrogative words or question words in Spanish
As in English, you can ask a question without using any question word. You just need to say a statement with a rising pitch of your voice at the end of the question.
And just like in English, in Spanish, the order of the subject and verb are switched when you convert a statement to a question as shown in the form below. Though, either way is fine.
¿Complete verb(s) + subject + object?
Examples:
Mary and John finish first - María y Juan terminan primero
Do Mary and John finish first? - ¿Terminan María y Juan primero?
You know how to get there - Tú sabes como llegar ahí.
Do you know how to get there? - ¿Tú sabes cómo llegar ahí?
Another useful Spanish question words
- Right? - ¿verdad? / ¿no?
Remember to raise the pitch of your voice when saying them.
Example: You’re going to take the garbage out, right? - Vas a sacar la basura, ¿verdad?
Hope that the above list of Spanish question words may help you pick the right question word and put words in the right order when asking questions in Spanish. Follow our site for learning tips, vocabulary, and grammar rules.