Lessons

A1.7 - Professions and studies

Question words: Wer, Was and Welcher/Welche/Welches

Use „wer“, „was“ and „welcher/welche/welches“ in your questions.

Choose the right question word: person, thing, or selection

  • Wer = asks about people (who?)
  • Was = asks about things / activities / information (what?)
  • Welcher / Welche / Welches = asks about a specific one from a set (which?)

Key idea: If you mean “which one exactly?”, use welcher/welche/welches. If you mean “who?” or “what?”, use wer or was.

“Wer” (who?) — always for people

  • Use wer when the answer is a person or people.
  • Very common in introductions, meetings, and workplaces.
German Meaning Example
Wer Who? Wer arbeitet als Ärztin?
Wer Who (plural meaning possible) Wer sind die?

Pay attention: Wer is grammatically singular, even when you mean several people.

So the verb is often plural: Wer sind die? (not Wer ist die?)

“Was” (what?) — for things, but also for “What do you do?”

  • Use was for things, information, or abstract ideas.
  • In German, Was arbeitest du? means What is your job?
Typical intention German Natural English
Ask about a job Was arbeitest du? What do you do (for work)?
Ask about studies Was studierst du? What are you studying?

Common confusion: English uses “what” + “job title”. German does the same here: Was arbeitest du? → “I’m an engineer.”

“Welcher / Welche / Welches” (which?) — match the noun

Use welcher/welche/welches when there is a choice or you want a specific one.

Rule: It must match the noun’s gender and number.

Noun Article Question word Example
Lehrer der (masc.) welcher Welcher Lehrer ist nett?
Frau die (fem.) welche Welche Frau ist deine Chefin?
Kind das (neut.) welches Welches Kind ist das?
Kollegen die (plural) welche Welche Kollegen sind neu?

Quick hack: Look at the article: der → welcher, die → welche, das → welches, plural die → welche.

“Wer” vs “Welcher” — the decision that matters most

  • Wer = you don’t name a noun; you just ask for the person: Wer arbeitet hier?
  • Welcher + noun = you choose among known options: Welcher Kollege arbeitet heute im Büro?

Think: “Who?” = open question. “Which colleague?” = you already have a set of colleagues in mind.

Word order: keep it simple at A1

  • Most common pattern: Question word + verb + subject …?
Type Pattern Example
Wer / Was Wer/Was + Verb + …? Was studierst du?
Welcher… + noun Welcher/Welche/Welches + Noun + Verb + …? Welche Ingenieurin arbeitet in deinem Team?

Self-check: 3 questions to choose correctly

  1. Am I asking about a person? → use wer
  2. Am I asking “what” (thing/info/activity)? → use was
  3. Am I choosing one from a group + I will say a noun? → use welcher/welche/welches (match the noun)

Mini test: ____ Studium machst du? → Welches (because das Studium)

Mini test: ____ sind die Leute im Meeting? → Wer (people, even if plural)

  1. Question words are used to ask for specific information—depending on whether it’s about people, things, or a choice, different question words are used.
  2. Welcher/welche/welches are adjusted to the noun in gender and number.
Fragewort (Question word)Verwendung (Use)Beispielsatz (Example sentence)
WerFür Personen (For people)Wer arbeitet als Ärztin? (Who works as a doctor?)
WasFür Dinge, Tiere oder abstrakte Begriffe (For things, animals, or abstract concepts)Was arbeitest du? (What do you do for work?)

Welcher / Welche / Welches

Plural: Welche

Für alle Nomen (For all nouns)

Welcher Lehrer ist nett? (Which teacher is nice?)

Welche Frau ist deine Mutter? (Which woman is your mother?)

Welches Kind ist das? (Which child is that?)

Exceptions!

  1. "Wer" is always singular, even when it refers to several people: "Wer sind die?"

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

Fetching your corrections... Please don't close this page yet.

Free DE

Preparing audio…

DE + EN

Preparing audio…

1. ____ arbeitet als Ärztin in dieser Praxis? Wer arbeitet als Ärztin in dieser Praxis?

____ works as a doctor in this practice?

2. ____ studierst du an der Universität? Was studierst du an der Universität?

____ are you studying at the university?

3. ____ Ingenieurin arbeitet in deinem Team? Welche Ingenieurin arbeitet in deinem Team?

____ engineer works on your team?

4. ____ Studium machst du — Informatik oder Architektur? Welches Studium machst du — Informatik oder Architektur?

____ degree program are you doing — computer science or architecture?

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the statement as a question and use the appropriate question word: wer, was or welcher/welche/welches.

Fetching your corrections... Please don't close this page yet.

Show/Hide translation
  1. (Wer) Eine Person arbeitet als Ärztin.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Wer arbeitet als Ärztin?
    (Who works as a doctor?)
  2. (Was) Du arbeitest als Ingenieur.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Was arbeitest du?
    (What do you do?)
  3. (Welcher) Der Lehrer ist nett.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Welcher Lehrer ist nett?
    (Which teacher is nice?)
  4. (Welche) Die Frau ist deine Chefin.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Welche Frau ist deine Chefin?
    (Which woman is your boss?)
  5. (Welches) Das Kind ist neu in der Klasse.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Welches Kind ist neu in der Klasse?
    (Which child is new in the class?)
  6. (Wer) Die Personen im Meeting sind neu.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Wer sind die Personen im Meeting?
    (Who are the people in the meeting?)
Previous Next

Learn German for beginners - An A1 course for adults with little time

ISBN 979-13-88253-15-7

This app supports this book.

Amazon.com

Written by

This content has been designed and reviewed by the coLanguage pedagogical team: About coLanguage

Profile Picture

Sophie Schmidt

International Administration Management

Würzburger Dolmetscherschule

University_Logo

Last Updated:

Tuesday, 23/06/2026 21:28