quoi

Bourguignon

Alternative forms

• quei (Morvan)

Etymology

From Latin quid; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Cognate to French quoi.

Pronoun

quoi

1. what (oblique pronoun)
2. (slang) aught, anything, something

   El aiveint-ti de quoi maingé ?

   Did they have enough to eat?

Adverb

quoi

1. (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

• que
• quei
• qui
• quoique

Further reading

• “quoi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

French

Alternative forms

• quoy (obsolete)

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

• IPA^(key): /kwa/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: coi, cois

Pronoun

quoi

1. (interrogative; for things) what
   1. (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?

   2. (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 ?)

2. (relative; for things) what, (that) which
   1. (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.)

   2. (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.

3. (after de and before an infinitive verb)
   1. enough (of something specific)

      Il y avait de quoi remplir trois boîtes. ― There was enough to fill three boxes.

   2. 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 [to thank me for].”)

4. (before a subjunctive verb) whatever
   1. (direct object)

      Quoi que je fasse, rien ne changera. ― Whatever I may do, nothing will change.

   2. (subject of an impersonal verb)

      Quoi qu’il arrive, je serai là. ― Whatever may happen, I will be there.

Derived terms

• à quoi bon
• comme quoi
• de quoi
• de quoi je me mêle
• dire quoi
• en foi de quoi
• et puis quoi encore
• il n’y a pas de quoi
• il n’y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat
• n’importe quoi
• pas de quoi
• pour quoi faire
• quoi de neuf
• quoi encore
• quoi faire
• quoi que
• quoi qu’il en ait été
• quoi qu’il en coûte
• quoi qu’il en eût été
• quoi qu’il en fût
• quoi qu’il en soit
• tout et n’importe quoi
• tu sais quoi
• vous savez quoi

 

Adverb

quoi

1. (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

1. what? say again?

   Synonyms: comment ?, pardon ?, plaît-il ?

See also

• que
• qui
• quoique

Further reading

• “quoi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʷoi̯/, [kʷɔi̯]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwoj/, [kwɔj]

Adjective

quoi

1. dative singular masculine/feminine/neuter of quī

Pronoun

quoi

1. dative singular masculine/feminine/neuter of quī

References

• “quoi”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish cía, from Proto-Celtic *kʷei, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.

Pronoun

quoi

1. (interrogative) who?

See also

• quoid

Middle French

Etymology 1

Old French, from Latin quietus.

Adjective

quoi m (feminine singular quoie, masculine plural quois, feminine plural quoies)

1. silent
2. calm; peaceful

References

• coi on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

Etymology 2

See quoy.

Pronoun

quoi

1. Alternative form of quoy

Old French

Alternative forms

• coay
• coi
• coy
• cooi
• quei
• queit
• quoit
• quoy

Etymology

Latin quietus.

Adjective

quoi m (oblique and nominative feminine singular quoie)

1. silent
2. calm; peaceful