The relative pronoun quien (plural quienes) is the human-only member of the Spanish relative system. Where que is the all-purpose workhorse (covering both things and people), quien is restricted to people and lives in three specific niches: after prepositions, in non-restrictive clauses, and in a small number of headless ("free relative") constructions like quien busca, encuentra. The form is unrelated to the interrogative ¿quién? in spelling — same shape, but no accent — and English speakers must learn to keep them distinct: the accented ¿quién? asks a question; the unaccented quien introduces a description. This page covers when quien is mandatory, when it is preferred but optional, when it would be wrong, and how it patterns with que and el que / el cual in the broader relative system.
Quien is mandatory after a preposition (when the antecedent is human)
This is quien's flagship use. When a preposition (con, sin, para, por, de, a, en, sobre, hacia, contra) needs to precede a relative pronoun, and the antecedent is a person, Spanish uses preposition + quien (or, less often, preposition + el que). What is not allowed in modern peninsular Spanish is preposition + que with a human antecedent in this slot.
El amigo con quien fui a Marruecos se llama Iván.
The friend I went to Morocco with is called Iván.
La profesora de quien te hablé ayer es de Salamanca.
The teacher I told you about yesterday is from Salamanca.
Los compañeros para quienes preparé la sorpresa todavía no han llegado.
The colleagues I prepared the surprise for haven't arrived yet.
La persona en quien más confío es mi madre.
The person I trust most is my mother.
Note that English freely strands prepositions at the end ("the friend I went with"), but Spanish never does this. The preposition always sits in front of the relative pronoun.
In each of these examples, you can substitute el/la que for quien with no loss of meaning, just a slight shift in register:
El amigo con el que fui a Marruecos se llama Iván.
The friend I went to Morocco with is called Iván. (more colloquial than 'con quien')
In speech, con el que / con la que is slightly more common; in writing and formal speech, con quien is slightly more common. Both are correct.
Quien in non-restrictive clauses (with commas)
When a relative clause adds extra information about a person — set off by commas, equivalent to English "who" in "my sister, who lives in Seville" — Spanish allows both que and quien. Quien gives the sentence a more elevated, careful, or written register; que is the everyday default in speech.
Mi hermana, quien lleva diez años viviendo en Sevilla, vendrá a la boda.
My sister, who has been living in Seville for ten years, will come to the wedding. (slightly more formal)
Mi hermana, que lleva diez años viviendo en Sevilla, vendrá a la boda.
My sister, who has been living in Seville for ten years, will come to the wedding. (everyday, more frequent in speech)
El director, quien acababa de cumplir cincuenta años, dimitió por sorpresa.
The director, who had just turned fifty, resigned by surprise. (newspaper register)
Felipe VI, quien reina desde 2014, acudió al acto.
Felipe VI, who has reigned since 2014, attended the event. (formal/journalistic)
Picking up the register: quien in non-restrictive clauses is the natural choice in newspaper writing, biographies, and formal speech. In casual speech and informal writing, most speakers use que.
Quien in restrictive clauses — usually avoided in Spain
When the relative clause is restrictive (no commas, identifying which person we mean), modern peninsular Spanish strongly prefers que over quien. The form quien in restrictive position is grammatical but sounds literary or archaic in everyday speech.
El hombre que vive en el quinto es de Cádiz.
The man who lives on the fifth floor is from Cádiz. (natural)
El hombre quien vive en el quinto es de Cádiz.
❌ Grammatical in old or very formal Spanish, but sounds wrong in modern Spain. Use que.
This is one of the most reliable diagnostics: if there are no commas and no preposition, use que for people. If you reach for quien in this slot, you will sound stilted.
The one exception is when quien expresses a contrast or is fronted for emphasis in a cleft sentence (see below).
Cleft sentences: fue X quien…
A high-frequency use of quien in everyday Spanish is the cleft construction for focus — Spanish's equivalent of English "it was X who…". The verb ser introduces the focused person, and quien (or quienes) introduces the relative clause.
Fue Marta quien lo organizó todo, no yo.
It was Marta who organized everything, not me.
Son ellos quienes deciden, no nosotros.
They are the ones who decide, not us.
No fui yo quien rompió el jarrón.
I wasn't the one who broke the vase.
In this construction, quien(es) is preferred over que because the focus is squarely on the person. You can replace it with el que / la que / los que / las que, which is more colloquial:
Fue Marta la que lo organizó todo.
Marta was the one who organized everything. (more colloquial)
Both versions are correct; quien gives the sentence a slightly more polished feel.
"Free relatives": quien without an antecedent
In a small number of fixed and proverbial expressions, quien introduces a clause with no explicit antecedent — equivalent to English "whoever" or "the one who". The verb often goes into the subjunctive when the reference is indefinite or future.
Quien busca, encuentra.
Whoever seeks, finds. (proverb)
Quien madruga, Dios le ayuda.
God helps those who get up early. (proverb)
Quien quiera venir conmigo, que levante la mano.
Whoever wants to come with me, raise your hand. (subjunctive — indefinite reference)
Tengo respeto por quienes dedican su vida a enseñar.
I have respect for those who dedicate their lives to teaching.
This use is more common in writing and in proverbial language than in everyday speech, where speakers often switch to el que / los que (el que busca, encuentra).
Singular vs. plural agreement
Quien is singular; quienes is plural. The form must agree with the antecedent in number, and the verb inside the relative clause must agree with it as well.
Mi vecino, quien es ingeniero, me arregló el ordenador.
My neighbor, who is an engineer, fixed my computer for me.
Mis vecinos, quienes son ingenieros, me arreglaron el ordenador.
My neighbors, who are engineers, fixed my computer for me.
In a free-relative construction with no explicit antecedent, the agreement still follows whether the relative refers to one person or many:
Quien lo sepa, que lo diga.
Whoever knows it, let them say so. (singular reference)
Quienes lo sepan, que lo digan.
Whoever knows it (plural understood), let them say so.
Quien never refers to things
A non-negotiable constraint: quien only refers to humans (and, in some literary uses, personified entities — pets, gods, fictional characters treated as people). Never use quien for inanimate antecedents.
❌ El coche, quien estaba aparcado fuera, ha desaparecido.
Incorrect — coche is not human; must use que
✅ El coche, que estaba aparcado fuera, ha desaparecido.
The car, which was parked outside, has disappeared.
For non-human antecedents in any relative position, use que, el que / el cual, or donde / cuyo as appropriate.
Quien vs. ¿quién? — the accent rule
The relative pronoun quien has no written accent. The interrogative or exclamative ¿quién? always carries an accent. Same shape, different functions, different spellings. Even when an interrogative is embedded inside a longer sentence, it keeps the accent.
El profesor con quien hablé es muy estricto.
The teacher I spoke with is very strict. (relative — no accent)
No sé con quién hablar de este tema.
I don't know who to talk to about this topic. (embedded question — accent)
¿Con quién hablaste anoche?
Who did you talk to last night? (direct question — accent)
This is the same accent rule that applies to que / qué, cual / cuál, donde / dónde, cuanto / cuánto: accented forms are interrogative or exclamative; unaccented forms are relatives or conjunctions.
Register summary
| Context | Form preferred in Spain | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Restrictive clause for a person, no preposition | que | neutral, everyday |
| Restrictive clause for a person, no preposition | quien | literary, archaic; avoid |
| Non-restrictive clause (with commas) | que | neutral, everyday |
| Non-restrictive clause (with commas) | quien | formal, journalistic, written |
| After a preposition (human antecedent) | preposition + quien | formal/neutral |
| After a preposition (human antecedent) | preposition + el/la que | colloquial/neutral |
| Cleft sentences (fue X…) | quien / el que | both common |
| Free relatives (quien busca, encuentra) | quien | proverbial/literary |
| Free relatives (everyday speech) | el que / los que | colloquial |
Common mistakes
❌ El amigo con que estudio es Pablo.
Sounds wrong in modern Spain — humans after a preposition need quien (or el que)
✅ El amigo con quien estudio es Pablo.
The friend I study with is Pablo.
❌ El coche, quien estaba aparcado fuera, ha desaparecido.
Incorrect — quien is for humans only
✅ El coche, que estaba aparcado fuera, ha desaparecido.
The car, which was parked outside, has disappeared.
❌ La persona quien me ayudó era una desconocida.
Stilted in modern Spain — use que in restrictive clauses for people
✅ La persona que me ayudó era una desconocida.
The person who helped me was a stranger.
❌ El amigo quien fui con se llama Iván.
Incorrect — preposition cannot strand at the end; must be 'con quien'
✅ El amigo con quien fui se llama Iván.
The friend I went with is called Iván.
❌ No sé con quien hablar.
Incorrect — embedded interrogative requires accent: con quién
✅ No sé con quién hablar.
I don't know who to talk to.
Key takeaways
- Quien / quienes is a humans-only relative pronoun.
- Its primary use is after a preposition with a human antecedent: con quien, para quien, de quien, en quien.
- In non-restrictive clauses (with commas), both que and quien are correct; quien is slightly more formal.
- In restrictive clauses (no commas, no preposition), prefer que; quien in this slot sounds bookish.
- Quien is also used in cleft sentences for focus (fue Marta quien lo hizo) and in proverbial free relatives (quien busca, encuentra).
- Quien is never used for things.
- Quien has no written accent; the interrogative ¿quién? always does.
- Spanish never strands a preposition at the end of a clause — it always goes in front of quien.
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- Pronombres relativos: el que, el cualB1 — The compound relative pronouns el que / la que / los que / las que and the formal el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales — when Spanish requires more than plain que and how the two series differ in register.
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- Relativas libres: 'quien busca encuentra'B2 — Headless relative clauses in Spanish — quien, lo que, donde, cuando, como, cuanto — used as their own noun phrase or adverbial without a separate antecedent.