Interrogativpronomen
Question pronouns ask about an unknown person or thing. Wer/wen/wem/wessen ask about people. Was asks about things — and unlike wer, it doesn't change form for Nominativ or Akkusativ.
Deklinationstabelle
| Case | Person (who) | Sache (what) | The question it answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | wer | was | Wer? — who is doing it? |
| Akkusativ | wen | was | Wen? — whom? |
| Dativ | wem | — | Wem? — to whom? |
| Genitiv | wessen | — | Wessen? — whose? |
wer/wen/wem/wessen rhymes with der/den/dem/des — the question pronoun is just the article without the noun. was is invariable for things; in Genitiv and Dativ for things, speakers use a wo(r)-compound (womit, wovon) instead.
Genitiv note: Wessen is grammatically correct but rare in spoken German. You'll see it in formal writing: Wessen Fehler war das? (Whose mistake was that?). In conversation, speakers often use Von wem ist das? instead.
Beispiele
Examples (tap to reveal translation)
5 of 20Nicht verwechseln: wer vs. der
Wer asks a question. Der (as a relative pronoun) connects a clause to a noun that was already mentioned. Same forms — completely different function.
Common Mistakes
welcher — Asking "Which?"
For asking "which one?" (selecting from a group), German uses welcher/welche/welches. It declines like the definite article:
- Welchen Film möchtest du sehen? (Which film do you want to see?)
- Welche Farbe gefällt dir? (Which colour do you like?)
This is sometimes taught alongside wer/was but functions as an adjective/determiner, not a standalone pronoun.
Quick Check
Which form fills the gap? — ___ hast du das Buch gegeben?
Quick Check
___ siehst du dort drüben? (Whom do you see?)
Quick Check
___ Auto ist das? (Whose car is this?)