A little help with qué vs cuál

Question

When it comes to asking questions, choosing between 'qué' and 'cuál' can be another tricky choice - especially because both of these words can often be translated as 'what?'.

This mini lesson might help to make the choice clearer.

Qué vs Cuál

(ps just the linked article above is mine, the pic below is just one off the net for some visual interest)

Thanks Kiwi...you help us so much! - rac1, Oct 21, 2012

Thanks Rac :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 21, 2012

This is excellent information. Thanks. - root1, May 21, 2017

I don't get how Cuál is more approprate for "Cuál es tu problema?" It's not like one is choosing between various problems... - Andy6553, Sep 11, 2017

Answer 1

Great job, Kiwi. Some minor comments:

¿Qué es el arcoiris? is what we would normally say.

You can say ¿Qué libro? or ¿Cuál libro? for your example under Qué. But your explanation is perfect.

Keep up the good work! You are a wealth of information!

Thanks Franco, oh in the image above you mean, sorry, that's not mine, only the linked article is mine, I just added the picture above for interest sake, so I'm afraid I can't fix that one jeje, good catch though and quite right, I didn't even notice. - - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 21, 2012

Totally understand! Great effort on your part, as usual! - francobollo, Oct 21, 2012

Sharp eyes!! - rac1, Oct 21, 2012