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

Fragewörter: Wer, Was und Welcher/Welche/Welches

Verwende „wer“, „was“ und „welcher/welche/welches“ in deinen Fragen.

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

Teacher explanation

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

Am I asking about a person? → use wer
Am I asking “what” (thing/info/activity)? → use was
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)

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.
Welcher/welche/welches are adjusted to the noun in gender and number.

Fragewort (Question word)	Verwendung (Use)	Beispielsatz (Example sentence)
Wer	Für Personen (For people)	Wer arbeitet als Ärztin? (Who works as a doctor?)
Was	Für 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?)

Fragewort (Question word)

Verwendung (Use)

Beispielsatz (Example sentence)

Wer

Für Personen (For people)

Wer arbeitet als Ärztin? (Who works as a doctor?)

Was

Für 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!

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

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. ____ arbeitet als Ärztin in dieser Praxis?

2. ____ studierst du an der Universität?

3. ____ Ingenieurin arbeitet in deinem Team?

4. ____ Studium machst du — Informatik oder Architektur?

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

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

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints

Hint Hint (Wer) Eine Person arbeitet als Ärztin.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Wer arbeitet als Ärztin?
(Who works as a doctor?)
Hint Hint (Was) Du arbeitest als Ingenieur.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Was arbeitest du?
(What do you do?)
Hint Hint (Welcher) Der Lehrer ist nett.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Welcher Lehrer ist nett?
(Which teacher is nice?)
Hint Hint (Welche) Die Frau ist deine Chefin.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Welche Frau ist deine Chefin?
(Which woman is your boss?)
Hint Hint (Welches) Das Kind ist neu in der Klasse.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Welches Kind ist neu in der Klasse?
(Which child is new in the class?)
Hint Hint (Wer) Die Personen im Meeting sind neu.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Wer sind die Personen im Meeting?
(Who are the people in the meeting?)

Exercise 3: Grammar in action

Instruction: Have a short conversation; ask about profession, work and studies.

Show/Hide translation

Situation

Du bist auf einer Jobmesse und sprichst mit Personen von verschiedenen Firmen.

Discuss

Wer arbeitet hier als Ingenieur oder Ärztin? (Who works here as an engineer or a doctor?)
Was machst du genau bei deiner Arbeit? Was studierst du? (wenn Student) (What exactly do you do at your job? What are you studying? (if a student))

Useful words and phrases

Ich arbeite als Ingenieur/Ich bin Ärztin. (I work as an engineer/I am a doctor.)
Ich studiere Medizin/Ich bin Student(in). (I study medicine/I am a student.)
Ich arbeite selbstständig/in einer Firma. (I am self-employed/I work in a company.)

Use in conversation

Wer …? (Personen) (Who …? (people))
Was …? (Tätigkeit/Arbeit) (What …? (activity/work))
Welcher/Welche/Welches …? (Auswahl) (Which …? (selection))