which

which  (hwch, wch)

pron.

1. What particular one or ones: Which of these is yours?

2. The one or ones previously mentioned or implied, specifically:

a. Used as a relative pronoun in a clause that provides additional information about the antecedent: my house, which is small and old.

b. Used as a relative pronoun preceded by that or a preposition in a clause that defines or restricts the antecedent: that which he needed; the subject on which she spoke.

c. Used instead of that as a relative pronoun in a clause that defines or restricts the antecedent: The movie which was shown later was better.

3. Any of the things, events, or people designated or implied; whichever: Choose which you like best.

4. A thing or circumstance that: He left early, which was wise.

adj.

1. What particular one or ones of a number of things or people: Which part of town do you mean?

2. Any one or any number of; whichever: Use which door you please.

3. Being the one or ones previously mentioned or implied: It started to rain, at which point we ran.

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[Middle English, from Old English hwilc; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: The relative pronoun which is sometimes used to refer to an entire sentence or clause, rather than a noun or noun phrase, as in She ignored him, which proved to be unwise. They swept the council elections, which could never have happened under the old rules. While these examples are unexceptionable, using which in this way sometimes produces an ambiguous sentence. Thus It emerged that Edna made the complaint, which surprised everybody leaves unclear whether it was surprising that a complaint was made or that Edna made it. The ambiguity can be avoided with paraphrases such as It emerged that the complaint was made by Edna, a revelation that surprised everybody. · Which may be used to refer to an entire sentence or clause only when it is preceded by that sentence or clause. When the referent follows, what should be used, particularly in formal style: Still, he has not said he will withdraw, which is more surprising but Still, what (not which) is more surprising, he has not said he will withdraw. See Usage Notes at that, what, whose.

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which [wɪtʃ]

determiner

1.

a.  used with a noun in requesting that its referent be further specified, identified, or distinguished from the other members of a class which house did you want to buy?

b.  (as pronoun) which did you find?

c.  (used in indirect questions) I wondered which apples were cheaper

2.

a.  whatever of a class; whichever bring which car you want

b.  (as pronoun) choose which of the cars suit you

3. used in relative clauses with inanimate antecedents the house, which is old, is in poor repair

4. as; and that: used in relative clauses with verb phrases or sentences as their antecedents he died of cancer, which is what I predicted

the which Archaic a longer form of which often used as a sentence connector

[Old English hwelc, hwilc; related to Old High German hwelīh (German welch), Old Norse hvelīkr, Gothic hvileiks, Latin quis, quid]

Usage: See at that

Translations

which [wɪtʃ]

A. PRONOUN

1. (in direct and indirect questions, reported speech)

Which/which one/which ones in direct and indirect questions and after expressions of (un)certainty and doubt (e.g. no sé) usually translate as cuál/cuáles:

→ cuál
which do you want? (offering one) → ¿cuál quieres?; (offering two or more) → ¿cuáles quieres?
I can't tell which is which → no sé cuál es cuál
which of you did it? → ¿cuál de vosotros lo hizo?
which of you is Kathleen? → ¿cuál de vosotras es Kathleen?
I don't know which to choose → no sé cuál escoger
tell me which you like best → dime cuáles te gustan más
I don't mind which → no me importa cuál

2. (relative)

2.1. (replacing noun)

In relative clauses where which defines the noun it refers to, you can usually translate it as que. Note that in this type of sentence which can be substituted by that in English:

→ que
the letter which came this morning was from my niece → la carta que llegó esta mañana era de mi sobrina
it's an illness which causes nerve damage → es una enfermedad que daña los nervios
do you remember the house which we saw last week? → ¿te acuerdas de la casa que vimos la semana pasada?
the bear which I saw → el oso que vi

If which is the object of a preposition, you can either translate it as que (usually preceded by the definite article) or as ARTICLE + cual/cuales. Use the second option particularly in formal language or after long prepositions or prepositional phrases:

your letter, which I received this morning, cheered me up → tu carta, que or (more frm)la cual he recibido esta mañana, me ha levantado el ánimo
the bull which I'm talking about → el toro del que or (more frm)del cual estoy hablando
the meeting which we attended → la reunión a la que or (more frm)a la cual asistimos
the hotel at which we stayed → el hotel en el que or (more frm)en el cual nos hospedamos
the cities to which we are going → las ciudades a las que or (more frm)a las cuales vamos
he explained the means by which we could achieve our objective → explicó los medios a través de los cuales podíamos alcanzar nuestro objetivo

If instead of defining the noun the which clause merely adds additional information, you can translate which using either que or ARTICLE + cual/cuales:

the oak dining-table, which was a present from my father, seats 10 people comfortably → la mesa de roble, que or la cual fue un regalo de mi padre, admite cómodamente diez comensales

2.2. (replacing clause)

When which refers to the whole of a preceding sentence or idea, translate as lo que or lo cual:

it rained hard which upset her → llovió mucho, lo que or lo cual le disgustó
they left early, which my wife did not like at all → se marcharon pronto, lo cual or lo que no agradó nada a mi mujer

After a preposition only lo cual can be used:

after which we went to bed → después de lo cual nos acostamos
from which we deduce that → de lo cual deducimos que ...

B. ADJECTIVE

1. (in direct and indirect questions, reported speech)

When which is used as an interrogative adjective, translate using qué + NOUN when the possibilities are very open or cuál/cuáles de + ARTICLE + PLURAL NOUN when the possibilities are limited:

→ qué
which house do you live in? → ¿en qué casa vives?
which day are they coming? → ¿qué día vienen?
I don't know which tie he wants → no sé qué corbata quiere
which picture do you prefer? → ¿qué cuadro prefieres?, ¿cuál de los cuadros prefieres?
which option do you prefer? → ¿cuál de las alternativas prefieres?
which way did she go? → ¿por dónde se fue?
which one? → ¿cuál?
I don't know which one to choose → no sé cuál escoger
tell me which ones you like best → dime cuáles te gustan más

2. (relative) look which way you will → mires por donde mires ...
he used "peradventure", which word is now archaic (frm) → dijo "peradventure", palabra que ha quedado ahora anticuada
in which case → en cuyo caso
he didn't get here till 10, by which time Jane had already left → no llegó hasta las 10 y para entonces Jane ya se había ido

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which [ˈ^hwɪtʃ]

adj

(in questions) → quel(le)
Which picture do you want? → Quelle photo voulez-vous?
Which flavour do you want? → Quel parfum veux-tu?
I know his brother. - Which one? → Je connais son frère. - Lequel?
I know his sister. - Which one? → Je connais sa sœur. - Laquelle?

in which case → auquel cas

pron

(= which one(s)) → lequel*(laquelle), lesquels* $(lesquelles)pl
Which of these are yours? → Lesquels sont à vous?
Which would you like? → Lequel voulez-vous?
Tell me which you want → Dites-moi lesquels vous voulez.
I don't mind which → Peu m'importe lequel.
not to know which is which → ne pas savoir lequel* est lequel*(laquelle)(laquelle)
Even the twins' teacher doesn't always know which is which → Même le professeur des jumeaux n'arrive pas toujours à savoir lequel est lequel.

(after preposition) → lequel*(laquelle)
the chair on which you are sitting → la chaise sur laquelle vous êtes assis
the box in which the keys are kept → la boîte dans laquelle les clés sont rangées
the charity to which he donated money → l'œuvre de bienfaisance à laquelle il a fait un don
of which → dont
the book of which you spoke → le livre dont vous avez parlé
after which → après quoi

rel pron

(subject of relative clause) → qui
the apple which is on the table → la pomme qui est sur la table
the CD which is playing now → le CD qui passe maintenant
He knew, which is incredible
BUT Il le savait, ce qui est incroyable.

(object of relative clause) → que
the apple which you ate → la pomme que vous avez mangée
the CD which I bought today → le CD que j'ai acheté hier

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which

adj

(interrog) → welche(r, s); which one? → welche(r, s)?; (of people also) → wer?; I can’t tell which key is which → ich kann die Schlüssel nicht auseinanderhalten

(rel) → welche(r, s); … by which time I was asleep → … und zu dieser Zeit schlief ich (bereits); look at it which way you will … → man kann es betrachten or sehen, wie man will …; … he said, which remark made me very angry → … sagte er, was mich sehr ärgerte

pron

(interrog) → welche(r, s); which of the children/books → welches Kind/Buch; which is which? (of people) → wer ist wer?, welche(r) ist welche(r)?; (of things) → welche(r, s) ist welche(r, s)?, welche(r, s) ist der/die/das eine und welche(r, s) der/die/das andere?; which is for which? → was ist wofür?

(rel) (with n antecedent) → der/die/das, welche(r, s) (geh); (with clause antecedent) → was; the bear which I saw → der Bär, den ich sah; at which he remarked … → woraufhin er bemerkte, …; it rained hard, which upset her plans → es regnete stark, was ihre Pläne durcheinanderbrachte; which reminds me … → dabei fällt mir ein, …; from which we deduce that … → woraus wir ableiten, dass …; after which we went to bed → worauf or wonach wir zu Bett gingen; the day before/after which he left her → an dem Tag, bevor er sie verließ/nachdem er sie verlassen hatte; the shelf on which I put it → das Brett, auf das or worauf ich es gelegt habe

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which

adj / pron which [witʃ]

used in questions etc when asking someone to point out, state etc one or more persons, things etc from a particular known group Which (colour) do you like best?; Which route will you travel by?; At which station should I change trains?; Which of the two girls do you like better?; Tell me which books you would like; Let me know which train you'll be arriving on; I can't decide which to choose. watter أي кой jaký, který, co hvilken welche ποιος (απ' όλους) cuál missugune, mis, kumb کدام (kysyttäessä vaihtoehtoa tunnetusta ryhmästä) quel; lequel, laquelle אֵיזֶה कौन,कौन सा koji melyik(et)? yang mana hver, hvor, hvaða quale; chi どちら (일정수의 물건, 일, 사람 가운데) 어느 쪽, 어느 것, 어느 쪽 사람 kuris kurš yang mana satu welk hvilken; hvem, hva który qual care; pe care; la care какой; который aký, ktorý, čo kateri koji vilken, vilket, vilka, vem อันไหน; สิ่งไหน hangisi(ni), hangi 哪一個 котрий, який کون سا cái nào; người nào 哪一个

rel pron

(used to refer to a thing or things mentioned previously to distinguish it or them from others able to be replaced by that except after a preposition: able to be omitted except after a preposition or when the subject of a clause) (the) one(s) that: This is the book which/that was on the table; This is the book (which/that) you wanted; A scalpel is a type of knife which/that is used by surgeons; The chair (which/that) you are sitting on is broken; The documents for which they were searching have been recovered. waarvoor الذي، التي، الذين، اللواتي: ضَمير صِلَة لِغَيْر العاقِل في جُمْلَةٍ مُحَدِّدَه който který, jaký som; der welche που, ο οποίος que mis که (erotettaessa jokin/jotkin aiemmin mainitut muista) qui; que; lequel שֶאוֹתוֹ, שֶבּוֹ जो koji amelyik(et), amely(et), ami(t) yang sem, er che; il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali ～するところの …하는 바의 kuris (tas) kurš yang die, dat som który que care; pe care который ktorý, aký ki koji som สิ่งที่; อันที่; อันซึ่ง ki... (關係代詞)那一個 який; що جو dùng để nhắc tới cái gì đã được nhắc tới trước đó 那一个

rel adj rel pron

used, after a comma, to introduce a further comment on something My new car, which I paid several thousand pounds for, is not running well; He said he could speak Russian, which was untrue; My father may have to go into hospital, in which case he won't be going on holiday. in welke الذي، التي، الذين، اللواتي: ضَمير صِلَة لِغَيْر العاقِل في جُملَةٍ غَيْر مُحَدِّدَه който který(žto), což som; hvilket welche ο οποίος, πράγμα που que mis که joka, mikä (ce) que/qui; auquel (cas) שֶׁ- तब koji amely(et), ami(t) yang sem, er che; il che*; cui そしてそれは 그리고(그러나) 그것(그 일)은 kuris, tai kas; kurš yang die, dat, wat som; hvilket który, co que (pe) care; ceea ce; în care caz который; что ktorý, čo kateri; kar koji som, vilket, ... och i så fall อันซึ่ง; อันที่ ki... (關係代詞、關係形容詞，在逗號之後)限定的那一個 який; котрий جو کہ người hoặc vật nào trong số lượng hạn chế 那一个

rel adjectiv / rel pron whichˈever

1 any (one(s)) that I'll take whichever (books) you don't want; The prize will go to whichever of them writes the best essay. wie ook al, watter ook al أي، أيُّهُما който (и да е) kterýkoli, ten který hvilken som helst welche auch immer οποιοσδήποτε cualquier; el/la que ükskõik mis, ükskõik kumb هرکدام mikä tahansa celui, celle (qui/que) אֵיזֶה שֶׁ- चाहे जो koji god amelyik(et) csak mana saja hver/hvor/hvaða sem chiunque するどれでも …하는 어느 것(어느 쪽)이든 bet kuris jebkurš; tas, kurš mana-mana saja welk... ook hvilken, den som którykolwiek qual deles oricare; oricine любой ktorýkoľvek, ten ktorý katerikoli koji god vilken, vilkendera, den som ไม่ว่าอันไหนก็ตาม (her) hangi...-se, hangisi olursa 無論哪一個 який; будь-який جو بھی bất cứ 无论哪一个

2 no matter which (one(s)) Whichever way I turned, I couldn't escape. waar ook al الى أي، في أي който (и да е) kterýkoli ligegyldigt hvilken ganz gleich welche όποιος (κι αν) cualquier ükskõik missugune هر mihin hyvänsä quel que soit לא חָשוּב אֵיזֶה चाहे जो koji god akármelyik(et) mana saja sama hver/hvaða qualunque どちらを～しようとも 어느 쪽(어느 것)이 …하더라도 kuris tik vienalga, kurš mana-mana pun welk... ook hvor... enn; hvilken som helst którykolwiek qualquer oricare ar fi какой бы ни; куда ни ktorýkoľvek katerikoli bilo koji vilken ... än ไม่ว่าสิ่งใดก็ตาม hangi(si) ...-se 無論哪個 який би не; який завгодно کوءی بھی cái nào 无论哪个

which is which(?)

which is one and which is the other (?) Mary and Susan are twins and I can't tell which is which. wie is wie أي واحِد مِنهُما، من هو كل واحِد مِنهُما кой кой е který je který hvem, der er hvem wer/was ist wer/was ποιος είναι ποιος cuál es cuál, quién es quién kumb on kumb کدام یکی کدام است kumpi on kumpi lequel est lequel מִיהוּ מִי जो है सो है koji je koji melyik melyik? (a kettő közül) tidak bisa membedakan hvor/hver er hvað (quale è quale) どっちがどっちか 어느 것이 어느 것인지 kuris yra kuris kas ir kurš yang mana satu antara dua wie wie is, wat wat is hvem/hva (som) er hvem/hva który jest który qual é qual care e care, cine e unul şi cine e celălalt который из них кто? ktorý je ktorý kateri je kateri koji je koji vilken (vilket, vilka, vem) [] är vilken (vilket, vilka, vem) อันไหนเป็นอันไหน hangisi hangisidir, ikisinin arasındaki fark ne 誰是誰 хто з них хто? ان میں سے کون کیا ہے cái nào 那一个是什么（或谁）

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which → أيّ, أيَّة který hvilken, som welcher ποιος, το οποίο cuál mikä lequel, quel koje, koji che, quale どの, どれ 어느, 어느 것 welke hvilken, som jaki, który qual который som, vilken/vilket/vilka สิ่งที่ อันที่, อันไหน hangi cái mà, cái nào 哪个