hvad

Hvad is the Danish interrogative pronoun meaning "what." It is used to ask about identity, nature, or content and appears in direct questions such as Hvad er det? and in indirect questions such as Jeg ved ikke, hvad han gør. It can also function as a relative pronoun in clauses like Det er alt, hvad jeg har, meaning “that is all that I have.”

Etymology and cognates: Hvad derives from Old Danish hvad and belongs to the West Scandinavian branch of the North Germanic languages. It is cognate with Norwegian hva, Icelandic hvað, and Swedish vad, all ultimately from a common Proto-Germanic root *hwat-.

Grammar and usage notes: Hvad is invariable and does not mark gender or number. It introduces content questions about objects, actions, or attributes and can head both direct and indirect questions. In exclamatory or idiomatic phrases, it appears in forms such as Hvad med dig? (What about you?) and Hvad i alverden? (What in the world?). In Danish syntax, questions with hvad generally follow standard word order for questions, with the verb appearing after the subject in many cases.

See also: Danish pronouns, Scandinavian languages, English what, Norwegian hva, Icelandic hvað, Swedish vad.