Qué vs. Que: Mastering the Nuances of ‘What’ and ‘That’ in Spanish

Use qué (with an accent) when the word asks or exclaims: “what?”, “which?” or “how…!” ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?), No sé qué hacer (I don’t know what to do), ¡Qué bonito! (How pretty!). Use que (no accent) when it simply links two parts of a sentence, meaning “that”, “who”, “which” or “than”: Creo que tienes razón (I think that you’re right), el libro que leí (the book that I read). The two sound almost the same; the accent shows which job the word is doing.

The quick test

Ask yourself: could I replace the word with “what” (or “how” in an exclamation) and keep the meaning?

• Yes → qué. Dime qué quieres. = Tell me what you want.
• No, it means “that / who / which / than”, or it could be dropped in English → que. Dice que viene. = He says (that) he’s coming.

A second check: inside ¿…? or ¡…! the word that asks or exclaims is almost always qué. But not every que inside a question is qué: ¿Sabes que me caso? (Did you know that I’m getting married?) uses the linking que.

Qué with an accent: every use

Indirect questions are where learners forget the accent. There is no question mark, but the word still means “what”: No entiendo qué pasó (I don’t understand what happened), Depende de qué día vengas (It depends on which day you come).

Que without an accent: every use

English often drops “that”, but Spanish never drops que: Sé que es tarde, not Sé es tarde.

Minimal pairs: the accent changes the meaning

• Dice que come. – He says that he’s eating. / Dice qué come. – He says what he eats.
• No sabe que estudias. – She doesn’t know that you study. / No sabe qué estudias. – She doesn’t know what you study.
• ¿Sabes que ha pasado? – Do you know that it has happened? / ¿Sabes qué ha pasado? – Do you know what has happened?
• Tengo que hacer. – I’ve got things to do. / No tengo qué hacer. – I don’t have anything to do (nothing I could do).
• Pregunta que si vienes. – He’s asking whether you’re coming (reported). / Pregunta qué traes. – He’s asking what you’re bringing.

Said aloud, qué is stressed and que is not, so native speakers also hear the difference.

Por qué, porque, porqué and por que

The same accent logic applies to “why” and “because”:

• por qué – why (questions, direct or indirect): ¿Por qué lloras? / No sé por qué se fue.
• porque – because: Lloro porque estoy feliz.
• el porqué – the reason (a noun): No entiendo el porqué de su decisión.
• por que – rare; preposition + relative, “for which”: Esa es la razón por (la) que vine. Most speakers add the article.

Qué or cuál?

Both can mean “what” or “which”. Use qué before a noun and to ask for a definition: ¿Qué libro lees? (What book are you reading?), ¿Qué es un adverbio? (What is an adverb?). Use cuál before es / son when you ask for one item from a possible set: ¿Cuál es tu número? (What’s your number?), not ¿Qué es tu número? More on this in qué vs cuál.

The same rule for other question words

Qué is part of a family. Each question word has an accented form for questions and exclamations and an unaccented form for linking:

• ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) / Hazlo como quieras. (Do it however you like.)
• ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?) / La casa donde nací. (The house where I was born.)
• ¿Cuándo llegas? (When do you arrive?) / Llámame cuando llegues. (Call me when you arrive.)
• ¿Quién es? (Who is it?) / Habla con quien quieras. (Talk to whoever you want.)
• ¿Cuánto cuesta? (How much is it?) / Come cuanto quieras. (Eat as much as you want.)

See the full list in Spanish question words.

Lo que or qué?

Both can translate as “what” in English, which causes many mistakes. The difference: qué asks about something unknown (an indirect question), while lo que means “the thing that” and points to something specific.

• No sé qué quieres. – I don’t know what you want. (I have no idea; it’s a question.)
• Te daré lo que quieras. – I’ll give you whatever you want. (the thing that you want)
• Lo que más me gusta es la playa. – What I like most is the beach. (not Qué más me gusta)
• Eso es lo que dije. – That’s what I said.

Test: if you can say “the thing that” in English, use lo que. If “what” introduces something you are asking or wondering about, use qué.

Everyday expressions

With an accent: ¿Qué pasa? (What’s up?), ¿Qué tal? (How are things?), ¡Qué va! (No way!), ¿A qué hora? (At what time?), ¡Qué pena! (What a shame!), ¿Y qué? (So what?), no hay de qué (you’re welcome).

Without an accent: ya que (since), así que (so), para que (so that), a menos que (unless), siempre que (whenever), ¡Que aproveche! (Enjoy your meal!), ¡Que lo pases bien! (Have a good time!).

Common mistakes

On a phone, a missing accent is common in casual messages, but in school work, emails and anything formal it counts as a spelling mistake.

Practice: que or qué?

1. ¿___ vas a hacer este fin de semana?
2. Me dijo ___ estaba cansado.
3. ¡___ calor hace hoy!
4. No recuerdo ___ me pediste.
5. El coche ___ compré es rojo.
6. Mi hermana es mayor ___ yo.
7. ¿Sabes ___ hora es?
8. Espero ___ te guste.
9. ¿De ___ es la camisa? – De algodón.
10. Hay ___ comprar pan.

Quick answers

What is the difference between que and qué in Spanish? Qué asks or exclaims (“what?”, “how…!”); que links clauses (“that”, “who”, “than”).

Does qué always have an accent in questions? When it means “what”, yes, even in indirect questions without question marks.

Is “¿Qué tal?” written with an accent? Yes: ¿Qué tal?

How do I type the accent? On most phones, hold the e key and choose é. On a Spanish keyboard, press the accent key and then e. See Spanish accent rules for why some words carry accents at all.