quien
relative pronoun
1 (con antecedente) (como sujeto) who
hablé con mi abogado, quien me dio la razón I spoke to my solicitor, who said I was right; él es quien se ocupa de estos asuntos he is the one who deals with these things; el Ayuntamiento será quien se haga cargo de eso it'll be the Council that take care of that
(como complemento) who; whom (formal) su profesor, a quien está dedicado el libro, siempre lo apoyó his teacher, who the book is dedicated to, always supported him; his teacher, to whom the book is dedicated, always supported him (formal); el pintor a quien describe en su libro the painter he describes in his book; the painter whom he describes in his book (formal); la señorita con quien hablaba the young lady I was talking to; the young lady to whom I was talking (formal)
2 (como indefinido)
un libro muy interesante para quien sepa poco del tema a very interesting book for anyone who knows little about the subject; quienes no estén de acuerdo que se vayan anyone who doesn't agree can leave; pregúntale a quien quieras ask anyone o whoever you like; "a quien corresponda" "to whom it may concern"
quien más se quejaba era él the person who complained most was him; he was the one that o who complained the most; yo hablo con quien quiero I'll speak to who I like; la tierra es para quien la trabaja the land belongs to he who works it; lo dijo como quien anuncia una gran noticia he said it like someone announcing some really important news
hay quien no piensa lo mismo there are some o those who do not think the same
no hay quien lo aguante no one can stand him
¡no hay quien te entienda! there's no understanding you!
quien más, quien menos
quien más, quien menos tiene un amigo que ha estudiado en el extranjero most of us have a friend who has studied abroad; quien más, quien menos, todos hemos tenido miedo a la oscuridad de pequeños all of us, to some extent, have been afraid of the dark as children
como quien dice so to speak
nací en Navarra, a un paso, como quien dice, de Francia I was born in Navarre, just a stone's throw from France, so to speak
como quien no quiere la cosa
se acercó, como quien no quiere la cosa, a enterarse de lo que decíamos he casually moved closer to us to find out what we were saying; era capaz de beberse una botella de vino, como quien no quiere la cosa he was quite capable of drinking a whole bottle of wine, just like that o as if it were nothing
como quien oye llover
estuve una hora intentando convencerlo, y él, como quien oye llover I spent an hour trying to persuade him but it was like water off a duck's back
no ser quien
él no es quién para decirme lo que tengo que hacer it's not for him to tell me what to do
tú no eres quien para decirme si tengo que llegar a casa antes de las diez it's not for you to tell me whether I should come home before ten