cual

Cual, written with an accent as cuál in Spanish, is an interrogative and relative pronoun and determiner that conveys the sense of “which” or “what” depending on usage. It is used to select from a set of options, to identify something, or to introduce a dependent clause that refers back to a previously mentioned element. In questions it asks the reader to choose among known possibilities, for example: ¿Cuál prefieres? ¿Cuál es tu color favorito?

Etymology and forms: Cuál derives from Latin qualis, related to forms meaning “of what kind.” The accent on cuál marks its status as a question word in direct and indirect interrogatives and exclamatives. The plural form is cuáles. When cu ál functions as a determiner before a noun, it typically appears with a noun, as in cuál libro or cuál color. In many contexts, there is a close relationship with qué, but cuál is used when a subset or a specific option is being identified rather than an open-ended inquiry.

Usage as a relative pronoun: In non-interrogative clauses, qué is often replaced by a relative form such as el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales. Cuál can appear in reduced or formal constructions after a preposition (del cuál, de cuál, con cuál), though el/la/el que forms are more common in standard writing. The form cualquiera (any) is related and used in phrases like cualquier cosa or cualquiera de los dos.

Distinctions: Cuál is favored when selecting from a known set of possibilities; qué is more general or open-ended. Both forms appear in questions, but they guide different types of answers. See also: pronombres interrogativos, pronombres relativos, correlatos como el cual.