How to Say ‘What is’ in French
Qu'est-ce
k eh suh
[k eh suh]
💬 Usage Tip: [Qu'est-ce] is a fixed chunk used to ask [what... ?], as in [Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?] or [Qu'est-ce que vous voulez ?]. Learn it as one piece rather than word by word.
Phrase Breakdown
Qu'
[k]
what
Part of the question form qu'est-ce, used to ask what.
Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas avec la chaudière ?
What is wrong with the boiler?
est
[eh]
is
Form of être meaning is in this expression.
Qu'est-ce qui est cassé exactement ?
What exactly is broken?
-ce
[suh]
this / it
A fixed part of the expression qu'est-ce, not translated word-for-word in English.
Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ce matin ?
What happened this morning?
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