Dutch question words: wie (who), wat (what), welk(e) (which) and wat voor (een) (what kind of)

Dutch uses wie (who), wat (what), welk(e) (which) and wat voor (een) (what kind of). Parentheses mark a part that changes or may be left out: choose welk or welke, and use een only in some wat voor questions.

Use wie for a person and wat for a thing or action. Use welk(e) to identify one of several known possibilities. Use wat voor (een) to ask about a kind or type.

The finite verb is the verb form that changes with the subject or tense. In a main question, put the question word or the whole question phrase first and the finite verb second. When the question phrase is not the subject, the subject follows the verb: Wat lees je? (What are you reading?) and Welke trein neem je? (Which train are you taking?)

A subject question asks who or what performs the action. The question phrase is already the subject, so no second subject follows the verb: Wie belt er? (Who is calling?) and Welke trein vertrekt om acht uur? (Which train leaves at eight?) Dutch often adds er in examples such as Wie belt er?, but not in every subject question: Wie is je docent? (Who is your teacher?) See open-question word order and presentational er.

Dutch has no separate form for “whom.” For a person, put the preposition before wie: Met wie ga je? (Who are you going with?) and Over wie praat je? (Who are you talking about?)

For a thing, a neutral question in Netherlands Dutch normally uses a waar- form: Waarmee schrijf je? (What are you writing with?) and Waarover praat je? (What are you talking about?) With met, the second part becomes mee. Forms such as met wat and over wat do occur in echo questions, speech and regional Dutch, so this is not an absolute ban. Learn the wider pattern in er and waar with prepositions.

Van wie is deze fiets? (Whose bike is this?) To ask who owns something, put van wie in front. The answer keeps van: Van mij. (Mine.) or Van Anna. (Anna’s.) The one-word wiens (whose) belongs to formal writing; in everyday Dutch, write van wie. See possession with van.

Before a noun, use welk with a singular het-word. Use welke with a singular de-word and with every plural noun.

If an understood noun is left out, the form still normally matches that noun: Ik heb twee boeken. Welk wil je? (I have two books. Which one do you want?) The understood word is boek, a het-word, so standalone welke is not a general rule. See welke and wat voor for standalone forms and choices with welk(e) van.

Use wat voor (een) when the answer should name a kind or type. Before one item, both forms are possible: Wat voor boek lees je? and Wat voor een boek lees je? (What kind of book are you reading?)

Before a plural or a substance, neutral Netherlands Dutch leaves out een: Wat voor boeken lees je? (What kind of books do you read?) and Wat voor koffie drink je? (What kind of coffee do you drink?) See welke and wat voor for the full contrast and other positions in the sentence.

Plain interrogative wat does not normally work like English “what” directly before a noun. Do not use wat boek for “what/which book.” Use welk boek for a known choice or wat voor (een) boek for a type. In Wat lees je? (What are you reading?), wat stands on its own.

A different, non-interrogative wat can stand before a plural or a substance. It means “some,” “a few” or “a little”: Ik heb wat vragen. (I have a few questions.) Wil je wat water? (Would you like some water?)

• Review the full set of Dutch question words.
• Compare identification and type questions in welke and wat voor.
• Review noun classes in the de and het overview.