Overview
Asking questions is a great way to learn new things in Spanish, and it's a necessary skill for making your way around. If you need to get directions, ask what a word means, find out the time, etc. you will need to know how to ask questions correctly. In this article we'll cover questions that can be answered with sí (yes) or no (no), as well as questions that are answered with more detailed information.
Check out these common questions.
¿Hablas inglés?
Do you speak English?
¿Dónde hay un buen café?
wher is there a good cafe?
¿Qué significa esta palabra?
What does this word mean?
Yes/No Questions
In Spanish, asking a question that can be answered sí or no is extremely easy. In written Spanish, all you have to do is frame what you want to ask with question marks (¿?). In spoken Spanish, you simply raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the question.
Statement
Habla español.
He speaks Spanish.
Question
¿Habla español?
Does he speak Spanish?
Statement
Te gusta la música hip hop.
You like hip hop music.
Question
¿Te gusta la música hip hop?
Do you like hip hop music?
Note the upside-down question mark (¿) in front of the questions. This is required when writing questions in Spanish! If you're not sure how to type the ¿, check out this article!
Question Words
When asking information questions, or questions that require an answer beyond sí or no, you'll need to begin your question with a question word. Check out this handy list of common Spanish question words.
Spanish English Spanish English
quién
who
qué
what
cuándo
when
dónde
wher
por qué
why
cómo
how, what
cuál
which
cuáles
which ones
de dónde
from wher
para qué
why, for what
cuánto
how much
cuántos
how many
adónde
to wher
a quién
to whom
de dónde
from wher
con quién
with whom
Notice that the above question words have accents on them. This differentiates them from their non-interrogative counterparts.
Check out these examples of Spanish interrogative sentences.
¿Cuánto cuesta la camisa roja?
How much is the red shirt?
¿Cuántas camisas rojas tienes?
How many red shirts do you have?
¿Cómo está tu madre?
How is your mother?
¿Cómo te llamas?
What do you call yourself?
Necesito $300. - ¿Cómo?
I need $300. - What?
¿Para qué necesitas $300? - Necesito $300 para comprar un teléfono nuevo.
What do you need $300 for? - I need $300 in order to buy a new telephone.
¿Por qué necesitas $300? - Porque voy a comprar un teléfono nuevo.
Why do you need $300? - Because I´m going to buy a new telephone.
In Spanish, when only part of a sentence is a question, you only place the question marks around that specific part of the sentence.
Te gusta esta película ¿no?
You like this movie, right?
Si te llamo, ¿vendrás?
If I call you, will you come?
