hvad for

Danish

Etymology

From hvad (“what”) + for (“for”). Calque of German was für.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈʋafɐ], [ˈʋɑfɐ], [ˈʋɒfɐ]

Determiner

hvad for

1. what, which
2. what kind of

Usage notes

• It is used with the indefinite article, i.e. with en or et before countable nouns in the singular and with nogen, noget, nogle before incountable nouns or nouns in the plural. The latter part may be separated split from the pronoun and located in the adverb position of the sentence, e.g. hvad er mordet begået med for et våben? ("with which weapon was the murder committed?").
• The expression is mostly used in colloquial language as an alternative for hvilken.