How to ask questions in Spanish: A top guide to question words

What’s worse than not being able to ask questions when you want to know something? Not knowing how to ask questions in Spanish will hold you back, which is why this handy guide is here to help!

Asking questions is one of the first few things we learn how to do as we’re growing up. And for good reason! We learn about the world around us by asking questions. That’s how we check in on people, make new friends in a different country, and navigate daily life.

Learning how to ask questions in Spanish can help us:

• Get clarification.

If you’re unsure what something means, knowing how to ask questions in Spanish will help you get clarification. As the popular Spanish saying goes, “al que no habla, ¡Dios no lo oye!” (God doesn’t help those who don’t speak). Plus, asking plenty of questions is one of the fastest ways to learn Spanish!

• Survive.

Seriously! Some questions are essential for daily life, like asking people for their name or where the bathroom is.

• Ask your friends how they’re doing.

A simple “hey, how are you?” can be incredibly important in your friendships. Knowing how to ask personalized questions is a sure way to let your friends know that you care about them.

• Meet new people.

What better way to strike up a conversation than by asking about the weather, a recent sports match, or what the time is? Who knows, even romance might be around the corner if you ask the right questions!

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to tackle the Spanish questions once and for all!

Table of contents

• What are interrogative words?
• Notable differences between English and Spanish questions
• How to ask questions in Spanish
• How to differentiate the intonation between statement and questions in Spanish
• Spanish question words songs
• 10 most common questions in Spanish
• Frequently asked questions

What are interrogative words?

Interrogative words help us ask a question. They can be adjectives, pronouns or adverbs. Both English and Spanish use interrogative words to specify what kind of information the speaker is asking for. For example, when you ask your friend “How did you get here?”, you want to know how they physically got to your location — not when or why they got there.

That means that a single word can change the entire meaning of a question. That’s why learning how to use each of them appropriately is so important. Here is an example of how a pronoun could change the entire meaning of a question just by using a different question word.

Notable differences between English and Spanish questions

Asking questions in English vs. Spanish isn’t all that different. Both languages use question marks to indicate a question in text and voice inflections to indicate a question in speech. However, there are a few key differences that you should keep in mind when asking questions in Spanish.

The Spanish question structure

As in English, you can use an interrogative word to start a question in Spanish. You would then follow it with a conjugated verb and may follow that with extra information if needed. However, Spanish is less strict when it comes to question structures. In fact, you can turn any statement into a question simply by adding question marks or using the right intonation.

Here are some examples.

The upside down question mark

One of the most obvious differences between English and Spanish questions is the use of the inverted question mark. If you’re just getting started with Spanish, you may feel intimidated by the upside-down question point. However, using it is really quite simple. Just as the regular question mark is used as punctuation at the end of a sentence, an upside-down question mark is used to open a question. This can be at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of it.

We’ll go into more details in a separate guide, but here are a few quick examples of how to use the inverted question mark in Spanish.

Question pronoun accent marks

As you may have noticed in the section above, Spanish question words always have an accent mark. That helps us differentiate interrogative words from other types of words, as sentence structure often doesn’t vary when asking questions in Spanish. In general, if you see an interrogative word with an accent mark, it means it is asking a question.

Here are some examples.

How to ask questions in Spanish

Now that you know how to use interrogative pronouns and inverted question marks, you’re ready to start asking questions in Spanish. We’ll cover each of the question words in more detail along with several examples to get you asking questions in Spanish like a pro!

¿Quién/Quiénes?

Meaning: Who

If you’re trying to figure out who someone is, who ate the last slice of cake, or who let the dogs out, then these are the question words you’re looking for. Although English uses the same question word for singular and plural, Spanish uses two:

• Quién — singular
• Quiénes — plural

Here are some examples of how to use these Spanish question words.

¿Qué? / ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles?

Meaning: What, Which

These pronouns serve very similar purposes, which often causes people to mix them up. They are all question words that translate to both “what?” and “which?” The word “¿qué?” never changes, while “¿cuál?” can change to “¿cuáles?” when referring to plural objects.

The main difference between “¿qué?” and “¿cuál?/¿cuáles?” boils down to specificity: “¿cuál?/¿cuáles?” are generally more specific than “¿qué?”

Mastering how to use these in every scenario takes a lot of practice, but here are a few helpful scenarios to help you start getting a sense of when to use each of these question words.

Asking for a definition: ¿Qué?

You use “qué” when you’re asking what something is, what something means, and when you genuinely have no idea what something could be. In other words, this is the least specific type of question, as you don’t really know anything about the answer.

Asking for someone or something’s name: ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles?

Use “¿cuál?/¿cuáles?” when asking about the name of someone or something. In other words, you use this to ask questions when you have an idea of what the answer could be, but you don’t know its name.

Here are some examples.

Choosing from an infinite group: ¿Qué?

Again, the less specific a question is, the more likely the question word will be “¿qué?” Use this question word when there is an infinite possible number of answer choices, as the answer could be possibly anything.

Here are some examples.

Choosing from a finite homogeneous group: ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles?

If you’re asking someone to choose from a defined group of like items, then you should use “¿cuál?/¿cuáles?” In some cases, the list of possible answer choices may be so obvious that you don’t even have to specify the objects you’re asking about.

Here are a few example sentences.

Choosing from a finite heterogeneous group: ¿Qué?

Use this question word when there is a small list of available options that are not all the same. For example, you may be asking someone to choose their favorite food. It could be sushi, pizza, burgers, fruits, vegetables, tacos… who knows!

¿Cuándo?

Meaning: When

This is one of the easiest question words in Spanish. Simply use this any time you want to inquire about the general time of something. Keep in mind that this is just the general time, and if you want to ask about the specific time or date of something, you’ll have to use “¿que?” Check out our article on telling time in Spanish for more details on asking about specific times!

For now, here are a few examples of how to use when.

¿Dónde?

Meaning: Where

This question word could save you a lot of trouble if you’re traveling in Spain or Latin America. In fact, knowing how to ask a few questions using “¿dónde?” could even save your life! From finding the nearest hospital to finding a place to charge your phone, this question word can help you find all the things you need.

¿Por qué?

Meaning: Why

One of the first things you will likely learn in your Spanish classes is to ask “¿por qué?” Just as toddlers go through the “why” phase, new language learners should also take advantage of this handy question word to acquire more knowledge at every chance they get.

Here are a few examples of how to use “¿por qué?” in Spanish.

¿Cómo?

Meaning: How

This Spanish question adverb generally means “how” in English. This is what you’ll want to use if you want to ask someone how they’re doing something or how something happened.

Another possible yet less common meaning of “¿Cómo?” is “what.” The meaning in Spanish doesn’t change, but some questions are formulated differently in Spanish. For example, if you want to know someone’s name, you’d ask them what their name is. In Spanish, you would instead ask them how they’re called. Therefore, you use “¿Cómo te llamas?” in Spanish to ask someone for their name.

Here are some more examples.

¿Cuánto? / ¿Cuánta? / ¿Cuántos? / ¿Cuántas?

Meaning: How much, How many

Although these interrogative adjectives may seem complicated, they’re actually some of the simpler ones. This is what you’ll want to use when you need to know how much of something or how many items.

The tricky part is matching the right version of this adjective with what you want to ask about. Just as in English, we need to use different words when asking about indefinite nouns versus definite nouns.

For example, in English, you ask how much milk and how many sugar packets you want in your coffee. That’s because milk is an uncountable noun. In other words, you can’t ask someone how many milks they want. You’d have to use an auxiliary countable noun, like how many milk cartons or milk bottles. Sugar packets, on the other hand, can be counted, so you can just ask how many they want.

Here are the variations of this question word and when to use each one:

• Cuánto – Masculine, uncountable
• Cuánta – Feminine, uncountable
• Cuántos – Masculine, countable
• Cuántas – Feminine, countable

Here are some example sentences.

How to differentiate the intonation between statement and questions in Spanish

Just like any other language, Spanish uses intonation to emphasize different words in a sentence. However, intonation is particularly important when speaking Spanish as it can be the only indication that a sentence is actually a question and not a statement. In general, you want to end your questions in a higher pitch to indicate that you’re asking a question.

Check out the following YouTube video for a verbal demonstration of how to ask questions when speaking Spanish.

SPANISH INTONATION 🇪🇸Statements vs Questions

Spanish question words song

If you have no idea how you’re going to learn all the question words in Spanish, here’s a good one: with a Spanish question word song!

Here’s our top recommendation. We guarantee it’s a jingle you’re already familiar with!

Spanish Interrogatives Jingle Bells Song/ Canción de los Interrogativos

10 most common questions in Spanish

If you’re an absolute beginner and will find yourself in a Spanish-speaking region soon, there are a few questions that you must absolutely learn before you go. Not only will these questions ensure that you’ll survive (and find a bathroom when you need one!), but they may even help you walk away with brand-new friends!

Frequently asked questions

Do you always need a question pronoun in Spanish?

No! In fact, you often don’t need to change anything in the sentence structure to turn a statement into a question. If typing, simply add the question marks (don’t forget the inverted question mark at the beginning of the question!) to turn your statement into a question. If you’re speaking, just change your intonation to a question intonation.

Why do interrogative words have accent marks in Spanish?

Spanish uses several tools to differentiate statements from questions since they can often be very similar. One of them is the inverted question mark at the beginning of a question to let the reader know that what they’re about to read is a question. Another is the accent mark on interrogative words.

Interrogative words always have an accent mark to differentiate them from other words. For example, the interrogative word ¿cómo? (how) turns into “como” without an accent mark, which means “like” or “as.”

What is the difference between “¿Cuál?” and “¿Qué?” in Spanish?

Generally, asking ¿cuál? means that there is a list of possible options to choose from, of which the person asking the question may be fully or vaguely aware. Asking ¿qué? means that the possible answer choices are so vast that there is no set of possible answers.

Go out and ask away!

Though we’ve reached the end of this article, it really is just the beginning for the curious at heart. If you enjoyed learning how to ask questions, go out and start practicing as soon as you can! The sooner you start asking questions in Spanish, the sooner you’ll perfect the art of Spanish interrogatives — and get all the answers you’ve been looking for!

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to take a look at our Spanish blog. We publish helpful guides on a wide variety of topics, including possessive adjectives and other fun grammar topics.