Asking for Information with Qué, Quién, Dónde, Cuándo, Cómo, and Cuánto

Asking for specific information in Spanish

Spanish question words help you ask for a particular type of information instead of a simple yes-or-no answer. In this lesson, you will use qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, and cuánto.

• qué — what
• quién — who
• dónde — where
• cuándo — when
• cómo — how
• cuánto — how much / how many

Each question word points to a different kind of answer. The most important skill is choosing the word that matches the information you want.

Using qué to ask what something is

Use qué — what when you want to identify a thing, idea, or category.

• ¿Qué es? — What is it?
• ¿Qué quieres? — What do you want?
• ¿Qué idioma hablas? — What language do you speak?

You already know ¿Qué quieres? — What do you want? from the café lesson. Here, the important point is that qué asks for the thing or information itself.

Using quién to ask about a person

Use quién — who when the answer should identify a person.

• ¿Quién es? — Who is it?
• ¿Quién es Ana? — Who is Ana?

When you ask about more than one person, you may see quiénes — who, plural.

• ¿Quiénes son? — Who are they?

The key distinction is simple: qué asks what, while quién asks who.

Using dónde to ask about location

Use dónde — where when you want to know the location of a person, place, or thing.

• ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the bathroom?
• ¿Dónde está el hotel? — Where is the hotel?
• ¿Dónde está la salida? — Where is the exit?

You already know the pattern ¿Dónde está…? — Where is…? Now you can recognize dónde as the question word that signals location.

Using cuándo to ask when something happens

Use cuándo — when when the answer should be a time, day, date, or other time reference.

• ¿Cuándo? — When?
• ¿Cuándo es? — When is it?

For now, keep cuándo in short familiar questions. Detailed dates and time expressions come later in the course.

Using cómo to ask how or about condition

Use cómo — how in questions about manner, condition, or certain familiar personal expressions.

• ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?
• ¿Cómo te llamas? — What is your name?

In ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?, cómo asks about condition. In ¿Cómo te llamas? — What is your name?, the complete expression has a special everyday meaning, so continue to treat it as a familiar phrase.

Using cuánto to ask about amount or price

Use cuánto — how much / how many when you want information about quantity or price.

• ¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost?
• ¿Cuánto? — How much?

When cuánto directly describes a noun, its form can change to match that noun.

• ¿Cuánto café? — How much coffee?
• ¿Cuánta agua? — How much water?
• ¿Cuántos libros? — How many books?
• ¿Cuántas mesas? — How many tables?

At this stage, focus on the pattern: cuánto changes when it directly goes with a noun, while ¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost? stays in the familiar form you already know.

Matching the question word to the answer you expect

Choose the question word by thinking about the kind of answer you need.

Question word	Information requested	Example
qué	thing or information	¿Qué es? — What is it?
quién	person	¿Quién es? — Who is it?
dónde	place	¿Dónde está el hotel? — Where is the hotel?
cuándo	time	¿Cuándo es? — When is it?
cómo	manner or condition	¿Cómo estás? — How are you?
cuánto	amount or price	¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost?

Avoiding English-style question structure

Spanish does not need an extra helping verb equivalent to English “do” in these questions. Use the question word directly with the verb pattern you already know.

• ¿Dónde está el hotel? — Where is the hotel?
• ¿Qué quieres? — What do you want?
• ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?

Do not try to add a separate word corresponding to English “do.” The Spanish question is already complete.

Using question words in short everyday exchanges

These question words help you get the exact information you need in familiar situations.

Person A: ¿Quién es? — Who is it?

Person B: Es Marta. — It is Marta.

Person A: ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the bathroom?

Person B: Allí. — There.

Person A: ¿Cuánto cuesta? — How much does it cost?

Person B: Diez. — Ten.

Person A: ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?

Person B: Bien. — Fine.

From information questions to writing a personal profile

You can now choose qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, or cuánto according to the information you want. The next lesson uses the identity, origin, language, and occupation language you already know to write a short personal profile in Spanish.