TOPIC · Articles & pronouns

Interrogative articles welch- and was für ein- in German

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After this lesson you can confidently use welch- and was für ein- to ask about specific items and about general types of people and things in German.

In this lesson you will learn how to use the interrogative articles welch- and was für ein-. You use them to ask about people and things in German: either from a known set of options (welch-) or more generally about a type or kind (was für ein-).

Interrogative article welch-

welch- behaves like dieser, jener or the definite article: it changes with gender, case and number. It asks for one or more items from a known, limited set (which one of these?).

Examples in sentences

Welches Buch liest du? (Which book are you reading?) – The books are known; you ask: “Which (of these) books?”
Welcher Film läuft heute Abend? (Which movie is on tonight?) – There is a list of films.
Welche Farbe magst du am liebsten? (Which colour do you like most?) – Choice among known colours.

Declension of welch-

Case	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
Nominative	welcher Mann	welche Frau	welches Kind	welche Leute
Accusative	welchen Mann	welche Frau	welches Kind	welche Leute
Dative	welchem Mann	welcher Frau	welchem Kind	welchen Leuten
Genitive	welches Mannes	welcher Frau	welches Kindes	welcher Leute

Tip: Forms are almost the same as dieser: dieser / welcher Mann, diese / welche Frau etc.

Use with prepositions

After prepositions, choose the case required by the preposition:

Mit welcher Person gehst du ins Kino? (With which person are you going to the cinema?) – Dative after mit.
Für welchen Kurs hast du dich angemeldet? (For which course did you register?) – Accusative after für.
Über welches Thema sprecht ihr? (About which topic are you talking?) – Accusative after über.

Interrogative article was für ein-

was für ein- literally means “what kind of …?”. It asks about the type or category of a person or thing. It is was + für + a form of ein.

Meaning and usage

Was für ein Auto möchtest du kaufen? (What kind of car do you want to buy?) – Type of car.
Was für eine Musik hörst du gern? (What kind of music do you like to listen to?) – Music genre.
Was für ein Lehrer ist er? (What kind of teacher is he?) – Character / style.

The stress is often on was: Was für ein Auto...?

Declension of was für ein-

was für stays the same; only ein changes like the indefinite article.

Case	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
Nominative	was für ein Mann	was für eine Frau	was für ein Kind	was für Leute
Accusative	was für einen Mann	was für eine Frau	was für ein Kind	was für Leute
Dative	was für einem Mann	was für einer Frau	was für einem Kind	was für Leuten
Genitive	was für eines Mannes	was für einer Frau	was für eines Kindes	was für Leute

In everyday German, you rarely need the genitive here; you usually ask in nominative or accusative.

Difference: welch- vs. was für ein-

Welches Auto möchtest du kaufen? (Which car do you want to buy?) – Choice from known cars.
Was für ein Auto möchtest du kaufen? (What kind of car do you want to buy?) – Type, qualities, category.

After this lesson you can ask for specific items from a known set and for general types or kinds of people and things in German.