Who in Spanish 🇪🇸

Pronunciation

Normal speech: KEE-ehn
IPA: ˈkjen

3 years ago

Sentence

Quién es? Who is it?

3 years ago

quien info.

Tips to remember:
• Think of “quien” as the Spanish equivalent for questioning “who” or referring to “anyone who” did something. Imagine asking “¿Quién?” as a quick recall of someone’s identity.
• Remember that when used in a question, it carries an accent – “¿Quién?” – highlighting its role in inquiries.

Explanations:
• “Quien” functions as an interrogative and relative pronoun referring to people. It is used to ask about or refer to a person whose name is unknown or irrelevant.
• In sentences, “quien” can introduce a relative clause (“la persona de quien te hablé”) or an indirect question (“No sé a quien llamar”), always linking back to a person.

Other words with similar meanings:
• “Quienquiera” can be used in contexts similar to “whoever,” as in “Quienquiera que llegue primero…”
• In certain constructions, phrases like “el que,” “la que” may substitute for “quien” as relative pronouns referring to a person.

Alternate meanings and slang:
• There isn’t a prominent slang meaning for “quien,” but in informal speech its use remains consistent as a reference to or question about a person.
• Occasionally, in very casual dialogue, “quien” might simply serve in ellipsis, assuming context makes clear you refer to “whoever” or “whomever.”

Examples of sentences:
• “Quien quiera participar, debe inscribirse antes del viernes.”
 Translation: “Whoever wants to participate must sign up before Friday.”
• “¿Quién llamó a la puerta?”
 Translation: “Who called at the door?”
• “No entiendo a quien se refiere con esa crítica.”
 Translation: “I don’t understand whom he/she is referring to with that criticism.”

a few seconds ago

quién info.

Tips to remember "quién":
– Think of the English phrase "Who can it be?" and sound out "can" a bit like "quién".
– Note that the "qu" in Spanish often represents the "wh" sound in English question words.
– "Quién" has an accent on the "e"; remember that this indicates the stress and that it's a question word.

Explanations:
– "Quién" is used to ask about people, similar to "who" in English.
– It is an interrogative pronoun and can be used in both direct and indirect questions.

Other words that mean the same thing:
– "Quiénes" is the plural form and means "who" when referring to multiple people.

Alternate meanings or slang:
– "Quién" does not generally have alternate or slang meanings, as it is a straightforward question word.

Examples of sentences that use "quién":
– Direct question: ¿Quién va a la fiesta esta noche? (Who is going to the party tonight?)
– Indirect question: No sé quién es el responsable de este error. (I don't know who is responsible for this mistake.)
– Plural form: ¿Quiénes son esos chicos? (Who are those guys?)

2 years ago