quoi
Bourguignon edit
Alternative forms edit
- quei (Morvan)
Etymology edit
From Latin quid; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Cognate to French quoi.
Pronoun edit
quoi
- what (oblique pronoun)
- (slang) aught, anything, something
- El aiveint-ti de quoi maingé ?
- Did they have enough to eat?
Adverb edit
quoi
- (colloquial) you know, like, y'know.
Usage notes edit
In some parts of Bourgogne, quoi is often confounded with quei, originally meaning which?. For example, it is not uncommon to hear aivoi de quei instead of aivoi de quoi ('to have enough').
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “quoi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Latin quid; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Cognate to English what, which differs due to changing under Grimm’s law.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
quoi
- (interrogative; for things) what
- (after a preposition)
- De quoi parle-t-il ? ― What is he talking about?
- À quoi penses-tu ? ― What are you thinking about?
- À quoi cela sert-il ? ― What is this used for?
- Avec quoi cela se mange-t-il ? ― What is this supposed to be eaten with?
- En vue de quoi fais-tu cela ? ― What are you doing this for?
- (attributive or direct object; colloquial)
- (after a preposition)
- (relative; for things) what, (that) which
- (direct object)
- Je sais quoi faire.
- I know what to do.
- Je ne sais pas quoi faire.(more formal French: Je ne sais que faire.)
- I don't know what to do.
- (after a preposition)
- Laisse-moi te montrer ce sur quoi je travaille en ce moment.
- Let me show you what I am working on at the moment.
- (literally, “...that on which I am working...”)
- Et voilà à quoi nous avons passé notre temps.
- And that's what we've spent our time on.
- Ils ont perdu beaucoup d’argent, en conséquence de quoi ils ont dû fermer le magasin.
- They've lost a lot of money, in consequence of which they've had to close the shop.
- (direct object)
- (after de and before an infinitive verb)
- enough (of something specific)
- Il y avait de quoi remplir trois boîtes. ― There was enough to fill three boxes.
- nothing
- Il n’y a pas de quoi en faire tout un plat ! ― There's nothing to make a big thing out of!
- Merci !
—Il n’y a pas de quoi [me remercier].- Thanks!
—Don't mention it. - (literally, “There is nothing [to thank me for].”)
- Thanks!
- enough (of something specific)
- (before a subjunctive verb) whatever
- (direct object)
- Quoi que je fasse, rien ne changera. ― Whatever I may do, nothing will change.
- (subject of an impersonal verb)
- Quoi qu’il arrive, je serai là. ― Whatever may happen, I will be there.
- (direct object)
Derived terms edit
- à quoi bon
- comme quoi
- de quoi
- de quoi je me mêle
- dire quoi
- en foi de quoi
- et puis quoi encore
- il n’y a pas de quoi
- il n’y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat
- n’importe quoi
- pas de quoi
- pour quoi faire
- quoi de neuf
- quoi encore
- quoi faire
- quoi que
- quoi qu’il en ait été
- quoi qu’il en coûte
- quoi qu’il en eût été
- quoi qu’il en fût
- quoi qu’il en soit
- tout et n’importe quoi
- tu sais quoi
- vous savez quoi
Adverb edit
quoi
- (colloquial) you know, like, y'know
- Alors, ce mec m’a dit de te donner son porte-monnaie, quoi.
- So, this guy, like, told me to give you his wallet.
Phrase edit
quoi
- what? say again?
- Synonyms: comment ?, pardon ?, plaît-il ?
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “quoi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
quoi
Pronoun edit
quoi
References edit
- “quoi”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Manx edit
Etymology edit
From Old Irish cía, from Proto-Celtic *kʷēs, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.
Pronoun edit
quoi
- (interrogative) who?
See also edit
Middle French edit
Etymology 1 edit
Old French, from Latin quietus.
Adjective edit
quoi m (feminine singular quoie, masculine plural quois, feminine plural quoies)
References edit
- coi on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
Etymology 2 edit
See quoy.
Pronoun edit
quoi
- Alternative form of quoy
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
quoi m (oblique and nominative feminine singular quoie)