quoi/kwa/
pronoun / adverb · A1 · Frequency 153
pronouncommon
Meanings
what; (that) which
Used as an interrogative or relative pronoun referring to things or situations.
whatever
Indicates no restriction on content, referring to anything.
Examples
Quoi de neuf au travail ?
What is new at work?
Tu penses à quoi depuis ce matin ?
What have you been thinking about since this morning?
Je n'ai pas de quoi acheter ce billet.
I do not have enough to buy this ticket.
Quoi qu'il arrive, nous resterons calmes.
Whatever happens, we will remain calm.
Collocations
- quoi de neufwhat's new
- assez de quoienough of something
- quoi qu'il arrivewhatever happens
Common mistakes
Je ne sais pas quoi il veut.
Je ne sais pas ce qu'il veut.
“quoi” cannot directly introduce this type of embedded question as English “what” can; use “ce que” instead.
Related words
Grammar note
Quoi is typically used as the object of a preposition, especially in questions and relative clauses, and cannot be used directly as a subject.
adverb
Meanings
what
Commonly used in direct or indirect questions.
the thing that
Relative pronoun introducing a relative clause and referring to an antecedent.
you know
Common in spoken dialogue, serving as a filler or emphasis.
Examples
Quoi veux-tu manger ce soir pour le dîner ?
What do you want to eat for dinner tonight?
Voici le livre, quoi tu as besoin pour ton projet.
Here is the book that you need for your project.
Je suis, quoi, un peu fatigué aujourd'hui, tu sais.
I am, you know, a bit tired today, you know.
Collocations
- quoi direwhat to say
- quoi que ce soitwhatever it is
- et quoi encoreand what else
Common mistakes
*quoi est-ce que
qu'est-ce que
The interrogative pronoun 'quoi' cannot be used directly as subject; use 'qu'est-ce que' instead.
*quoi, tu sais
quoi, tu vois
In colloquial filler usage, 'quoi' is commonly paired with 'voir' rather than 'savoir'.