Qual (plural quais) is the Portuguese interrogative used to pick one member — or some members — out of a set. The most natural English translation is which, but here is the twist: PT-PT uses qual in a very wide range of cases where English defaults to what. "What is your name?" — Qual é o teu nome?. "What is the capital of Portugal?" — Qual é a capital de Portugal?. Grasping when Portuguese chooses qual instead of que is one of the first real steps into native-sounding PT-PT.
This page lays out the forms (they agree only in number — there is no gender distinction), the central qual vs que decision, and the idiomatic combinations that make qual one of the most useful question words in the language.
The forms — just two, singular and plural
Unlike quanto, which has four forms (gender + number), qual agrees only in number.
| Form | Agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| qual | singular (any gender) | qual livro? / qual caneta? (which book? / which pen?) |
| quais | plural (any gender) | quais livros? / quais canetas? (which books? / which pens?) |
Qual é a tua cor preferida?
What is your favourite colour?
Qual destes vinhos recomendas?
Which of these wines do you recommend?
Quais são os teus livros preferidos?
Which are your favourite books?
Quais prefere, doutor — os azuis ou os verdes?
Which do you prefer, doctor — the blue ones or the green ones? (formal)
Qual é...? — the identification frame
This is the most frequent use of qual and the one English speakers most need to internalize: Qual é... — literally "Which is..." — is PT-PT's default way of asking for an identifier, label, or specific value. English uses what here, but Portuguese wants qual.
Qual é o teu nome?
What is your name?
Qual é a capital de Portugal?
What is the capital of Portugal?
Qual é o teu número de telemóvel?
What is your phone number?
Qual é a diferença entre estas duas palavras?
What is the difference between these two words?
Qual é o problema?
What is the problem?
Why qual and not que? Because in each of these cases, the speaker is asking the listener to pick one specific item out of a pool of possibilities — your name is one name out of all possible names, the capital is one city out of all Portuguese cities, your phone number is one sequence of digits. Portuguese treats this as selection, not as identification of an unknown thing.
Qual vs Que — the core decision
Here is the rule that clarifies the qual / que split for English speakers:
- Qual = "which one (of a set you both implicitly know)" — identification, selection.
- Que = "what (as an open concept, thing, or definition)" — definition, nature.
Qual é a tua profissão?
What is your profession? (= which out of all professions)
Que profissão é essa?
What is that profession? (= what does it involve, what is it like)
Qual é o teu carro?
Which one is your car? (pointing at a row of cars)
Que carro é esse?
What kind of car is that? (the make, the model)
Qual foi o problema?
What was the problem? (= which specific issue happened)
Que problema é esse?
What kind of problem is that? (= what sort of thing are you describing)
Qual + noun — "which X"
Qual can attach directly to a noun, giving a picking-question.
Qual vinho preferes?
Which wine do you prefer?
Qual caminho devemos seguir?
Which path should we follow?
Quais livros levamos para a viagem?
Which books shall we take on the trip?
Qual professora te deu a nota?
Which teacher gave you the grade?
In spoken PT-PT, you will also hear Qual é o vinho que preferes? — a slightly longer phrasing that is often more natural in conversation. Both are fine; the bare qual + noun is a touch more direct.
Qual de / Qual dos / Qual das — out of a defined group
When the group being chosen from is explicit, qual combines with de (+ contractions) to mean "which of them."
| Pattern | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| qual de | with a singular noun | qual de vocês |
| qual dos | masc. plural + article | qual dos livros |
| qual das | fem. plural + article | qual das opções |
| quais de | plural with unspecified group | quais de nós |
| quais dos/das | plural of a defined group | quais das raparigas |
Qual destes bolos é o teu preferido?
Which of these cakes is your favourite?
Qual dos candidatos vai ganhar as eleições?
Which of the candidates is going to win the election?
Qual das salas está livre agora?
Which of the rooms is free now?
Quais dos teus amigos vão à festa?
Which of your friends are going to the party?
The contractions dos, das, deste, desta, desses, daquelas follow the usual preposition + article rule. (See preposition contractions for the system.)
The "é que" reinforcement
Predictably, qual takes the é que reinforcement in natural spoken PT-PT. Qual é que... is nearly as common as qual é... alone.
Qual é que é o teu livro preferido?
What is your favourite book?
Quais é que são as regras?
What are the rules?
Qual é que queres — o vermelho ou o azul?
Which do you want — the red one or the blue one?
Note that qual é que é has a slight redundancy — two forms of ser around é que — but PT-PT speakers use it freely. The sequence is idiomatic, not a mistake.
Qual as a relative pronoun — "which" in relative clauses
In more formal PT-PT, qual (with the definite article) introduces a relative clause, equivalent to English which.
A casa, na qual vivi durante dez anos, foi vendida.
The house, in which I lived for ten years, was sold. (formal)
O motivo pelo qual te liguei é simples.
The reason for which I called you is simple. (formal)
As pessoas com as quais trabalho são excelentes.
The people with whom I work are excellent. (formal)
In everyday speech, que often replaces o qual / a qual when the preposition is simple — a casa onde vivi rather than a casa na qual vivi. See relative pronouns for the full picture.
Qual in fixed expressions
Some everyday phrases use qual almost as a discourse particle.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Qual quê! | "Oh, come off it!" / "Not a bit!" — dismissive |
| tal qual | just like / exactly the same |
| seja qual for | whatever it may be / no matter which |
| cada qual | each one / to each his own |
Qual quê! Isso não é verdade nenhuma.
Nonsense! That's not true at all. (informal, emphatic)
O miúdo é tal qual o pai.
The kid is just like his father.
Seja qual for a tua decisão, apoio-te.
Whatever your decision may be, I support you.
Cada qual com a sua opinião.
Each to his own opinion.
The seja qual for construction, with the future subjunctive of ser, is especially useful for polite universal statements. It is worth memorizing as a chunk.
Comparison with English and Spanish
For English speakers: The hardest adjustment is using qual where English instinct reaches for what. "What's your name / phone number / address / favourite film?" — all of these are Qual in PT-PT, because they are asking you to select one specific value. Stop translating literally; think "which out of all possibilities" and qual will come naturally.
For Spanish speakers: Portuguese qual behaves almost identically to Spanish cuál, including the cuál es tu nombre → qual é o teu nome parallel. Brazilian Portuguese uses qual slightly more promiscuously than European Portuguese; PT-PT sometimes prefers que + noun where PT-BR would use qual + verb (Que cor preferes? vs Qual a cor que preferes?). Both are understood and neither is wrong.
Common mistakes
❌ Que é o teu nome?
Incorrect — asking for a name uses qual é o teu nome or como te chamas
✅ Qual é o teu nome? / Como te chamas?
What is your name?
❌ Qual é uma palavra?
Incorrect — asking for a definition uses que, not qual
✅ O que é uma palavra?
What is a word? (= give me a definition)
❌ Qual pessoas vêm à festa?
Incorrect — pessoas is plural, so the form must be quais
✅ Quais pessoas vêm à festa?
Which people are coming to the party?
❌ Qual que preferes?
Incorrect — the reinforcement is é que, not bare que
✅ Qual preferes? / Qual é que preferes?
Which one do you prefer?
❌ Qual de os meus amigos?
Incorrect — de + os contracts to dos
✅ Qual dos meus amigos?
Which of my friends?
Key takeaways
- Qual (singular) and quais (plural) agree only in number — there is no gender distinction.
- The core function of qual is selection from a set, even when English uses what: Qual é o teu nome?, Qual é a capital?
- Qual asks "which one of a set"; que asks "what, as a definition or kind." If English "which one" fits, use qual.
- Qual de / dos / das picks a member of a defined group: qual destes, qual dos candidatos, qual das salas.
- The é que reinforcement (Qual é que..., Quais é que...) is standard in conversational PT-PT.
- Qual (with article) also works as a formal relative pronoun: a casa na qual vivi.
- Fixed expressions — qual quê!, tal qual, seja qual for, cada qual — are high-frequency idioms worth memorizing as units.
Related Topics
- Questions OverviewA1 — How to form questions in European Portuguese — an orienting tour of the three main types (yes/no, tag, and wh-questions), the crucial fact that Portuguese does not use do-support or subject-verb inversion, and a map of the dedicated pages that go deeper.
- Questions with Que / O Que (What)A1 — How European Portuguese asks about things and concepts — the distinction between que + noun (which book?), o que (what do you do?), stressed o quê at the end of utterances, and the colloquial é que reinforcement that makes PT-PT what in speech almost universally o que é que.
- Questions with Como (How)A1 — Using como to ask about manner, means, state, description, and as a standalone request for repetition in European Portuguese.
- Questions with Quanto/Quanta (How much/many)A1 — Using quanto, quanta, quantos, and quantas to ask about quantity, duration, price, and degree — with full agreement rules and the idiomatic uses Portuguese speakers use every day.