French · Greetings & Essentials
"What?" in French: quoi ?
quoi ?
Note: polite: pardon ?
What in informal French is often quoi ?: c'est quoi ? Tu fais quoi ? Polite or careful speech prefers pardon ? or qu'est-ce que… The headword here is quoi ?
Mishearing a friend
Quoi ? Répète, s'il te plaît.Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
How to pronounce quoi ?
Say it
kwah
/kwa/
Kwah. Round lips for oi. Rising intonation for the question. Space before ? in French writing: quoi ?
"What?" in French: quick reference
| French | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| quoi ? | what? Informal question. | Informal question. |
| c'est quoi ? | what is it? Everyday. | Everyday. |
| tu fais quoi ? | what are you doing? Casual. | Casual. |
| de quoi ? | about what? / sorry? Clarifying. | Clarifying. |
How to use quoi ? in real life
- 1Mishearing a friend
Quoi ? Répète, s'il te plaît.
What? Repeat, please.
Quoi ?
- 2Looking at a gadget
C'est quoi, ce truc ?
What is this thing?
C'est quoi.
- 3Plans text
Tu fais quoi ce soir ?
What are you doing tonight?
Tu fais quoi.
Mistakes English speakers make with quoi ?
Incorrect: Quoi vous voulez ?
Correct: Que voulez-vous ? / Vous voulez quoi ?
With vous, prefer que… or place quoi carefully; plain quoi ? is very informal.
Incorrect: What ?
Correct: Quoi ?
Use quoi ? in French.
Good to know
In shops, pardon ? is softer than quoi ? if you mishear someone. Among friends, quoi ? is normal and quick.
Try it in a ChatPal conversation
A noisy café conversation
ChatPal
On se voit à dix-huit heures.
We'll meet at six.
You
Quoi ? J'ai pas entendu.
What? I didn't hear.
ChatPal
Dix-huit heures. Tu fais quoi avant ?
Six o'clock. What are you doing before?
You
Rien de spécial. Je viens direct.
Nothing special. I'll come straight there.
This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.
Practice this conversation in ChatPal"What?" in other languages
FAQ
Common questions about "What?" in French
Is quoi rude?
Alone it can sound blunt with strangers. Soften with pardon ? in polite settings.
Quoi vs qu'est-ce que?
Qu'est-ce que is fuller/safer. Quoi is informal and sentence-final often.
How do I write the question mark?
In French, put a space before ?: quoi ?
How do you pronounce quoi?
Kwah.
Learn a word, then use it out loud
- Step 1: See it in context
- Step 2: Say it out loud
- Step 3: Get feedback
- Step 4: Use it in real scenarios
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