Formwelch- + Endung (wie der/die/das) + Nomen
Meaning and usage
Welcher, welche and welches ask which one. The ending follows the article der, die, das, so welcher goes with a masculine noun, welche with a feminine or plural noun, and welches with a neuter noun. The question word stands first and the verb comes second.
The noun often follows the question word: Welches Buch hat dir gefallen? You can also leave the noun out when the thing is clear: Welcher ist der größte Flughafen? The common mistake is using one ending for every noun, so check the gender of the noun before you choose.
Examples 6
Welches Buch hat dir am besten gefallen?
Which book did you like best?
Welche Fächer hast du in der Schule?
What subjects are you taking at school?
Welchen Film willst du als nächstes sehen?
What movie do you want to watch next?
Welches Land möchtest du am liebsten besuchen?
What country do you most want to visit?
Welche dieser Busse fährt in die Stadt?
Which one of those buses goes downtown?
Welcher Augenblick war der glücklichste deines Lebens?
What was the happiest moment of your life?
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Hemd gefällt dir besser?
Show answer
Correct answer: Welches
Hemd is neuter, so the question word takes the neuter ending -es: Welches Hemd.
- Welche is the feminine or plural form and does not fit a neuter noun.
- Welcher is the masculine form and does not fit a neuter noun.
- Welchen is used for masculine nouns in the accusative, not for a neuter noun here.
In this topic: Questions
- Kommst du …? Yes/no question: verb first
- Was, wer, wie, wann, warum …? W-questions: question word first, verb second
- wo, wohin, woher where: position, destination, origin
- welcher, welche, welches Which: welch- takes the endings of der, die, das
- wie viel, wie viele how much, how many
- …, oder? statement + oder? = isn't it? right?
- Was für ein …? what kind of
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.