Asking "which"
To ask "which" specific item someone means, German uses the word welch-. Because it acts like a definite article (der, die, das), you must add an ending that matches the gender and case of the noun it describes.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | welcher | welche | welches |
| Accusative | welchen | welche | welches |
| Dative | welchem | welcher | welchem |
Neuter nouns
For neuter nouns, use welches. The form stays exactly the same whether the noun is the subject (nominative) or the direct object (accusative).
| Which food are we buying today? | Welches Futter kaufen wir heute? |
Masculine nouns
For masculine nouns, the ending changes depending on the role the noun plays in the sentence. Use welcher when the noun is the subject doing the action (nominative), and welchen when it is the direct object receiving the action (accusative).
| Which bird is eating the food? | Welcher Vogel frisst das Futter? |
| Which cage do you need for the bird? | Welchen Käfig brauchen Sie für den Vogel? |
Feminine nouns
Feminine nouns use welche for both the nominative and accusative cases.
| Which leash are you gifting me? | Welche Leine schenkst du mir? |
Prepositions and the dative case
When welch- follows a dative preposition (like mit), it takes a dative ending. For example, the feminine dative form changes to welcher.
| Which brush are you cleaning the bowl with? | Mit welcher Bürste putzen Sie den Napf? |
