French word

quoi

Pronunciation

IPA/kwa/

Meaning

  • pronounwhat

Example

Quoi ?

What?

Illustration for quoi (what)

More examples

À quoi bon tout ça ?

What's the point of all this?

Core concept

A verbal spotlight on a thing that needs identification or has suddenly drawn attention.

Common phrases

  • avec quoi

    with what

  • sur quoi

    about what

  • à quoi bon

    What's the point

Similar words

que: A pronoun asking what action or thing is involved in a sentence.
qu'est-ce que: A question opener asking "What?" or "What is it that...?".
quelque chose: An indefinite expression referring to an unspecified thing or event.

Definition in French

Mot interrogatif et exclamatif, invariable, servant à interroger sur une chose ou à exprimer la surprise; très fréquent dans le langage familier.

Word origin

The interrogative quoi continues Latin quid, passing through the Old French form quoi before reaching modern French.

Usage tips

  • Quoi is invariable and commonly follows a preposition, as in avec quoi, de quoi, and pour quoi in separate words when the meaning is 'for what'.

Other meanings

  • huhinterjection

Word lists with this word