“Qu’est-ce que” and “Est-ce que” are frequently used in French to ask questions. They look and sound similar, but they’re actually quite different. What’s the difference between these French questions, and how can you use them in everyday French conversation?
A student asked me this question in a previous Q&A on learning French. Today, I’ll clear up any confusion you might have… And you’ll get to learn more ways to ask questions in French!
Learning goals: This is what you’ll be able to do after watching this lesson
- Beginner: Don’t be confused when you read or hear “Qu’est-ce que” or “Est-ce que”, because you know what they mean
- Intermediate: Ask Yes / No questions in a new way
- Advanced: Make sentences with “Qu’est-ce que” and “Qui est-ce qui”
Bonjour I’m Géraldine, your French teacher.
Welcome to Comme une Française!
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1) Qu’est-ce que… ?
Qu’est-ce que is a French way to start a question. Literally, it’s built with three French words:
Que + est + ce → “What + is + it/that?…”
As a French question, it’s a longer way to ask: “What… ?” It’s correct French, but in real, everyday spoken French, we tend to ask shorter questions.
For instance, you can ask: Qu’est-ce que c’est ? (= What is it?)
But, in everyday spoken French, we would rather use: C’est quoi? (= What is it?) or C’est quoi ça? (=What is this thing?)
You can also use “Qu’est-ce que…” with other sentences, such as:
Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce soir ? (= What are you doing tonight?)
In spoken French, you can use : Tu fais quoi ce soir ? (= What are you doing tonight?)
To go the extra mile, you can also use the same expression with Qui (= “Who?”).
For instance, we would ask Qui est-ce ? (= Who is it?) – or C’est qui ? in spoken French.
Using the French question Qui est-ce qui… (= “Who is it that…” = “Who… ?”), you can also ask:
- Qui est-ce qui a appelé ? (= “Who is it that called?” literally)
- Qui a appelé ? (= “Who called?”, same meaning, simpler question)
In everyday spoken French, we could also say C’est qui qui a appelé?, but “qui qui” sounds bad, aesthetically – so, in this case, we would rather use “Qui est-ce qui” instead.
2) Est-ce que… ?
“Est-ce que…” is another French way to ask a question. But, while “Qu’est-ce que” asks for “What…?”, “Est-ce que…” (= “Is it that… ?” literally) asks “Is it true that… ?.”
It’s an easy way to announce that you’re asking a “Yes / No” question!
“Est-ce que tu es prêt ?” (= Are you ready ?)
There are several ways to turn an affirmative sentence (“Tu es prêt” = “you’re ready”) into a Yes / No question (“Are you ready ?”):
- Add “Est-ce que” in front of it Est-ce que tu es prêt ?
- Invert the verb and subject Es-tu prêt ? (more formal)
- Just add an interrogation point! Tu es prêt ? (spoken French)
3) Your turn now!
How would you turn these sentences into questions?
- Tu es là. You’re here.
- On fait des gâteaux pour ce soir. We’re baking cakes for tonight.
- Michel danse la salsa. Michel is dancing salsa.
You can try different ways for each sentence!
Do it before looking at the corrections below.
Are you ready to see the answers?
You’re sure?
OK, great!
So, you can ask:
For Tu es là.
- Tu es là ? Est-ce que tu es là ? Es-tu là ?
(= Are you here? In spoken French / correct French / formal French) - Qui est-ce qui est là ? Qui est là ?
(= Who’s here? Who’s there? In correct but longer French, and in normal French)
For On fait des gâteaux pour ce soir.
- On fait des gâteaux pour ce soir ?
(= “Do we bake cakes for tonight?” in spoken French) - On fait quoi pour ce soir ?
(= What do we make for tonight? In spoken French) - Qu’est-ce qu’on fait pour ce soir ?
(= What do we make for tonight? In correct French)
The more formal way to ask “What do we do for tonight?” would be “Que faisons-nous pour ce soir?” – with both the subject-verb inversion, and using “nous” instead of “on.”
For Michel danse la salsa.
- Michel danse la salsa ?
(= “Is Michel dancing salsa?” in spoken French) - Michel danse quoi ?
(= “What is Michel dancing?” in spoken French) - Qu’est-ce que Michel danse?
(= “What is Michel dancing?” in correct French) - Qui est-ce qui danse la salsa ?
(= “Who is dancing salsa?” in correct but longer French) - Qui danse la salsa ?
(= “Who is dancing salsa?” in correct and shorter French)
There are many more possible questions you could ask around these sentences, try to make your own!
4) Recap: What did you learn today?
- “Qu’est-ce que… ?” = “What… ?”
- “Qui est-ce qui… ?” = “Who… ?”
- “Est-ce que… ?” = Announcing a “Yes / No” question
- How to ask more simple questions in everyday, spoken French
If you want to learn more about asking questions in French, you can watch my lesson on how to ask a question in French.
À tout de suite.
See you in the next video!
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Allez, salut 🙂
Are there any specific rules when asking a question with c’est or questions with a conjugation of être as the verb?
If you’re asking “Is it Friday?” would your only option be intonation “C’est vendredi ?” or can you say “Est-ce que c’est vendredi ?” or “Est-ce vendredi ?”
Or if you are asking “Where is the cat?” would your only option be intonation “Où est le chat ?” or can you say “Où est-ce qu’est le chat ?” or “Où est-il le chat ?”
I’m just a little confused! Any help is appreciated! Merci!
Bonjour Katie,
Indeed, there are different ways to formulate these questions, but for those “shorter” questions, the intonation is often used to ask the question in everyday speech.
I hope this helps.
Bonne journée,
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
This has been helpful
Bonjour, are there subject/verb rules for Qu’est que questions? For example, can I say “Qu’est que animal tu fais voir?” or should it be “Qu’est que tu fais animal voir?”? Are both correct?
Bonjour Mark,
I am not sure that I fully understand the question. Désolé !
What animal do you want to see? = Quel animal est-ce que tu veux voir ?
Do you want to see animals? = Est-ce que tu veux voir des animaux ?
Bien à toi,
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
You posted : c’est quoi? (what is it?). But it would be much more helpful to let readers know it’s actually literally (it is what?) So that we better learn what each part means. We benefit by knowing that Qu’est-ce que c’est means (what is it that it is).
Can you use EST-CE QUE when aking a question in the NEGATIVE?
Can you say: Est-ce que vous n’allez pas au concert?
Yes, that is absolutely correct.
You can negate a sentence while using est-ce que question.
Fabien
Comme Une Française Team
Can we ask “Qu’est-ce que ce sont?
Hi Roshini !
We can’t, actually.
“What are they ?” or “What are these?” = “Qu’est-ce qu’ils sont ?”, “Que sont-ils ?” literally, but it’s quite formal.
In most situations, we would use “Qu’est-ce que c’est ?” (correct French) // “C’est quoi ?” “C’est quoi ça ?”(in everyday spoken French) or even “C’est quoi ces trucs ?” (= What are these things?, informal spoken French)
Have a great day!
– Arthur, writer for Comme une Française
j’aime beaucoup notre lecon merci
Merci beaucoup pour un bonne lecon.
J’ai un question, s’il vous plait. Pour la troisieme question, est-ce que c’est correct si j’ecris “Danse-il Michel la salsa?”?
Bonjour Ridwan,
Non, tu dois écrire dans ce cas-là “Michel danse-t-il la salsa ?”