What is it like? (jaki, jaka, jakie)

Asking what something is like

what kind of, what ... like (asks for an adjective)

jaki asks for a quality — it expects an adjective as the answer, where kto and co expect a noun. English has no single word for it: what is it like?, what kind of? and which? all come out as jaki.

It behaves like an adjective, so it agrees with the noun it asks about:

formexample
masculinejakiJaki jest ten dom?
femininejakaJaka jest ta książka?
neuterjakieJakie jest to dziecko?
What is this house like? — New.
Jaki jest ten dom? — Nowy.
What is this book like? — Very good.
Jaka jest ta książka? — Bardzo dobra.
What is this child like? — Small.
Jakie jest to dziecko? — Małe.

Answering

The answer is a bare adjective in the same gender — no it is needed.

Asking about people

With a pronoun the question means what is he / she like?:

What is she like? — Young and pretty.
Jaka ona jest? — Młoda i ładna.

Contributors