To ask who? in Spanish, use ¿quién? for one person and ¿quiénes? for more than one. Both always carry a written accent and agree in number with the expected answer.
This is one of the workhorse question words in Spanish — you'll use it constantly to ask about identities, owners, callers, visitors, and anyone else you want to find out about.
Singular vs. plural
Spanish makes a distinction English does not: quién for one person, quiénes for several. You pick the form based on how many people you expect the answer to name.
¿Quién llama?
Who is calling?
¿Quiénes son ellos?
Who are they?
If you are unsure, the singular quién is the safer default, but using quiénes for a clearly plural subject sounds much more natural.
Quién as subject
When quién is the subject of the verb, the verb agrees with it in the usual way. Singular quién takes a singular verb; quiénes takes a plural verb.
¿Quién tiene las llaves?
Who has the keys?
¿Quiénes viven aquí?
Who lives here? (expecting several people)
Quién as direct object — the personal a
When quién is the direct object and refers to a person, Spanish requires the personal a in front of it. This is non-negotiable.
¿A quién viste?
Who(m) did you see?
¿A quiénes invitaron?
Who(m) did they invite?
Forgetting the personal a is a common mistake for English speakers. ¿Quién viste? sounds wrong because quién here is the thing being seen, not the one doing the seeing. See personal a for the broader pattern.
Quién with prepositions
Spanish never strands a preposition at the end of a sentence the way English can. If you need with whom, from whom, for whom, the preposition must come right at the front, glued to quién.
As with all Spanish question words, prepositions must go before quién, never at the end.
¿Con quién hablas?
Who are you talking with?
¿Para quién es el regalo?
Who is the gift for?
The pattern ¿De quién es…? is the standard way to ask about possession. There is no one-word equivalent of English whose as a question word — you always build it from de + quién.
Quién es vs. Cuál es
Both ¿Quién es…? and ¿Cuál es…? can appear before tu or su, but they mean different things.
| Question | What is being asked |
|---|---|
| ¿Quién es tu hermano? | Which person (by identity) is your brother? |
| ¿Cuál es tu hermano? | Which one (of these people) is your brother? |
Use quién to ask about a person's identity in general; use cuál to pick a specific one out of a visible group. More on this in cuál.
Indirect questions
Quién and quiénes keep their accents in indirect questions.
No sé quién es.
I don't know who he is.
Pregúntale a quién espera.
Ask him who he's waiting for.
The accent shows that the word is still asking something, even though the overall sentence is a statement.
A Quick Reference
| Function | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject (singular) | quién | ¿Quién llama? |
| Subject (plural) | quiénes | ¿Quiénes vienen? |
| Direct object | a quién(es) | ¿A quién viste? |
| With preposition | de/con/para quién | ¿Con quién hablas? |
| Possession | de quién | ¿De quién es? |
| Indirect question | quién/quiénes | No sé quién es. |
More Everyday Examples
¿Quién quiere postre?
Who wants dessert?
¿Quiénes son esos señores?
Who are those gentlemen?
¿Para quién trabajas?
Who do you work for?
Related Topics
- Qué (What, Which)A1 — Use ¿qué? to ask for definitions, identifications, and to modify nouns with the meaning what or which.
- Cuál (Which One)A2 — Use ¿cuál? and ¿cuáles? to ask which one from a set, and understand why Spanish prefers ¿qué + noun? over ¿cuál + noun?.
- A: The Personal AB1 — The rule that requires a before a specific human direct object in Spanish.