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How to say "which" in German

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25/06/18
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How to say "which" in German

★ 21
Mega

•

25/06/18

in German, „was“ can be used to mean “which” in certain situations, not just „welcher“.

But here's the key:

They’re used in different grammatical contexts.

✅ When to use „was“ as “which”:

You use „was“ as a relative pronoun to mean "which" or "what", but only after:

  1. Indefinite nouns like:
  2. alles (everything)
  3. nichts (nothing)
  4. etwas (something)
  5. viel (much), wenig (little)
  6. das (in some general uses)
  7. Whole clauses, when referring to the entire idea that came before.

🔍 Examples:

1. After indefinite words:

  1. Alles, was er sagt, ist wichtig.
  2. → Everything (that) he says is important.
  3. Etwas, was mir gefallen hat, war die Musik.
  4. → Something I liked was the music.

2. Referring to a whole previous idea:

  1. Er kam zu spät, was allerdings sehr nützlich war.
  2. → He arrived late, which, however, was very useful.
  3. (→ "was" refers to the whole action of coming late)

❌ When not to use "was":

If you’re referring to a specific noun like:

  1. der Mann, die Frau, das Buch → use welcher, die, or das (depending on gender/case).

Example:

  1. Das Buch, das ich gelesen habe, war spannend. ✅
  2. → The book that I read was exciting.

Not: ✖️ Das Buch, was ich gelesen habe...

🧠 Summary:

Use

Relative Pronoun

After das, alles, nichts, etwas, etc.

✅ was

Referring to an entire previous idea/sentence

✅ was

Referring to a specific noun with gender

✅ der/die/das or welcher (depends on context)


★ 21
Mega

•

25/06/18

✅ When to use „welcher“

Use „welcher“ when:

  1. You're referring to a specific noun (not indefinite like „alles“ or „etwas“).
  2. You want a more formal, literary, or clear way to say “which” in a relative clause.
  3. You need to avoid confusion when using der/die/das as relative pronouns would be ambiguous.


🧠 Examples:

🟦 Nominative (subject of the clause)

  1. Der Mann, welcher dort steht, ist mein Lehrer.
  2. → The man who is standing there is my teacher.

🟥 Accusative (object of the clause)

  1. Die Frau, welche ich gestern gesehen habe, ist meine Nachbarin.
  2. → The woman whom I saw yesterday is my neighbor.

🟨 Dative

  1. Das Kind, welchem ich das Buch gegeben habe, war sehr dankbar.
  2. → The child to whom I gave the book was very grateful.

🟩 Plural

  1. Die Leute, welche dort wohnen, sind sehr freundlich.
  2. → The people who live there are very friendly.

👥 Comparison with „der/die/das“

These mean the same but are more commonly used in spoken German:

  1. Der Mann, der dort steht = The man who is standing there
  2. Die Frau, die ich gesehen habe = The woman I saw

👉 Use „welcher“ mainly in written, formal, or clarity-demanding situations.

🧩 Tip:

You’ll usually find „welcher“ more often in legal, academic, or literary German. In everyday speech, der/die/das as relative pronouns are more natural.