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quoi. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
quoi, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
quoi in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Bourguignon
Etymology
From Latin quid; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Cognate to French quoi.
Pronoun
quoi
- what (oblique pronoun)
- (slang) aught, anything, something
El aiveint-ti de quoi maingé ?- Did they have enough to eat?
Adverb
quoi
- (colloquial) you know, like, y'know.
Usage notes
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
Further reading
French
Etymology
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
Pronoun
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)
C’est quoi ? (attributive)- What is this/that?
(noncolloquial French: Qu’est-ce ? / Qu’est-ce que c’est ?)
Il dit quoi ? (direct object)- What does he say?
(noncolloquial French: Que dit-il ? / Qu’est-ce qu’il dit ?)
- (relative; for things) what, (that) which
- (direct object)
Je sais quoi faire.- I know what to do.
Je ne sais pas quoi faire.- I don't know what to do.
(more formal French: Je ne sais que faire.)
- (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.
- (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 .”)
- (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.
Derived terms
Adverb
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
quoi
- what? say again?
- Synonyms: comment ?, pardon ?, plaît-il ?
See also
Further reading
Latin
Pronunciation
Adjective
quoi
- dative singular masculine/feminine/neuter of quī
Pronoun
quoi
- dative singular masculine/feminine/neuter of quī
References
Manx
Etymology
From Old Irish cía, from Proto-Celtic *kʷei, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.
Pronoun
quoi
- (interrogative) who?
See also
Middle French
Etymology 1
Old French, from Latin quietus.
Adjective
quoi m (feminine singular quoie, masculine plural quois, feminine plural quoies)
- silent
- calm; peaceful
References
- coi on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
Etymology 2
See quoy.
Pronoun
quoi
- Alternative form of quoy
Old French
Etymology
Latin quietus.
Adjective
quoi m (oblique and nominative feminine singular quoie)
- silent
- calm; peaceful