Published May 31, 2022 • Updated June 20, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Qui — Meaning and Pronunciation
Qui is a common French word meaning “who,” “whom,” “which,” or “that,” depending on the context. As an interrogative pronoun, it means “who.” For example, “Qui parle français ?” (Who speaks French?). As a relative pronoun, it means “who” or “that.” For example, “C’est la femme qui parle” (She’s the woman who’s speaking).
IPA pronunciation of qui is /ki/, which sounds approximately like “kee”.
Example sentences
Asking Who?
Qui is most commonly used to ask questions about people.
Qui est Charles de Gaulle ?
Who is Charles de Gaulle?
Qui sont ces gens ?
Who are these people?
Qui parle français ?
Who speaks French?
Qui est-ce que vous invitez ?
Who are you inviting?
With Prepositions
French prepositions such as avec (with), pour (for), and à (to, at) can be placed before qui.
Avec qui est-ce que vous habitez ?
With whom do you live? (Who do you live with?)
Relative pronoun qui
L’homme qui danse avec Marie s’appelle Jacques.
The man who’s dancing with Marie is named Jacques.
Whose?
The expression à qui is commonly used to ask about possession and can be translated as “whose”.
À qui est cette voiture ?
Whose car is this?
Whoever
The expression qui que vous soyez means “whoever you are”.
Qui que vous soyez, entrez s’il vous plaît !
Whoever you are, please enter!
👉 The grammar behind qui is actually quite complex. This lesson explores the interrogative pronouns qui and que in detail.
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Related French Question Words
- que — what
- quoi — what
- quand — when
- pourquoi — why
- comment — how
- où — where
- quel — which / what
- combien — how much / how many
📚 Related lessons
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👉 Relative pronouns »
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