hvaða

Hvaða is an Icelandic interrogative determiner used to ask about a specific choice among a set of items, roughly equivalent to the English "which" or "what kind of." It precedes a noun and is used to identify or select one item from among possible options. The form is used in questions and can also appear in dependent clauses that describe or specify a noun.

In everyday Icelandic, hvaða appears before the noun in phrases such as hvaða bók (which book), hvaða dagur (which day), and hvaða litur (which color). The word functions like other adjectives in Icelandic in that it agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case, though the exact inflection aligns with standard adjective patterns rather than standing alone.

Hvað is a related interrogative meaning "what" used in more general questions that do not name a specific noun, as in hvað er þetta? Hvort is used in yes–no questions or in contexts involving alternatives in some dialects.

Historically and typologically, hvaða belongs to a family of Icelandic interrogatives that includes hvað, hvaða, and related forms, and it shares cross-language connections with similar words in other Scandinavian languages. It is a common tool in questions about identity, specification, or classification, and it remains a standard element in Icelandic syntax for narrowing down choices.

Examples: Hvaða bók er þetta? Which book is this? Hvaða dagur er í dag? Which day is today? Hvaða litur er þetta? Which color is this?