que

que

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Quechuan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkjuː/

  Audio (UK)

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• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uː
• Homophones: cue, Q, queue

que (countable and uncountable, plural ques)

1. (rare) The name of the Latin-script letter Q/q. Alternative form of cue.
   • 1820, John Borthwick Gilchrist, The Stranger's Infallible East-Indian Guide, London, page 163:

     having lost their own pees and ques, by some pitiful attempt in our alphabetical orchard

   • 2011, Elgin Dobbins, Thirty Seconds to Midnight, page 386:

     he was about to be interviewed by German television and he had to be on his pees and ques.

2. (US, informal, rare) Clipping of barbeque.
   • 2009 December 25, Nick Cramer, “My "homemade" Italian meatball recipe - for Nick and Meir”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

     Then about 1950 two German brothers who had a meat market began cooking BBQ in their market to use up left over meat. One got the idea to smoke a brisket as he was smoking sausage one weekend. He left it all weekend in his smokehouse and on Monday as they were serving their que, pork, sausage & chicken, he cut a slice […]

   • 2010 September 22, Nanzi, “Re: Yoy guys are killing this group”, in alt.food.barbecue (Usenet):

     Instead please join in the sharing of que methods and recipes, or questions.

   • 2011, Kathy Reichs, Spider Bones: A Novel, →ISBN, page 57:

     The back route I favor involves a long stretch on Highway 74 and brings me close enough to Lumberton for a barbeque detour. That was my target today. Being already in Lumberton, it only made sense to score some “que.”

3. (South Asia) Alternative form of queue

• equ-

From Latin quid, usurping the roles of quod.

• IPA^(key): /ke/, [ke]

que

1. that, what, which

• qué

• (Central) IPA^(key): /kə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ke/

Inherited from Latin quem.

que

1. (relative) that, which
2. (relative) that, who, whom

• què

Inherited from Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis.

que

1. (relative) that
2. (in comparisons) than

que

1. how; used to indicate surprise, delight and such

   Que bonic és viure!

   How nice it is to live!

• què

• “que” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “que”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “que” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “que” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Old Galician-Portuguese que, from Latin quid (“that”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid.

• IPA^(key): /ke/

que

1. that (connecting noun clause)
   • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:

     I si “a patria do homi é sua lengua”, cumu idía Albert Camus, o que está claru é que a lengua está mui por encima de fronteiras, serras, rius i maris, de situaciós pulíticas i sociu-económicas, de lazus religiosus e inclusu familiaris.

     And if “a man’s homeland is his language”, as Albert Camus said, what is clear is that language is beyond borders, mountain ranges, rivers and seas, above political and socio-economic situations, of religious and even family ties.

2. than (used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison)
   • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 2: Númerus:

     Cumu to é cuestión de proporciós, sin que sirva de argumentu por nun fel falta, poemus vel que en a misma Europa hai Estaus Soberarius con menus territoriu que os tres lugaris nossus, cumu:

     As everything is a matter of proportions, without its presence being an argument, we can see that even in Europe there are Sovereign States with less territory than our three places, such as:

que

1. who, whom, which, that

• o que

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎, 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): /kə/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ə

Inherited from Latin quid, usurping some of the roles of Latin quod.

que

1. that (introduces a subordinate noun clause and connects it to its parent clause)

   Je vois que tu parles bien français.

   I see that you speak French well.

   • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:

     Si on s’en allait tout là-haut, si on prenait de la hauteur, tu verrais que le monde est beau, beau.

     If we went all the way up there, if we got higher, you would see that the world is beautiful, beautiful.

2. Substitutes for another, previously stated conjunction.

   Si le temps est beau et que tout le monde est d’accord, nous mangerons en plein air.

   If the weather is nice and if everyone likes the idea, we'll eat outside.

3. when, no sooner

   Il était à peine parti qu’elle a téléphoné à la police.

   No sooner had he left when she called the police.

4. Links two noun phrases in apposition forming a clause without a (finite) verb, such that the complement acts as predicate.
   • 1874, Barbey d'Aurevilly, ‘Le Bonheur dans le crime’, Les Diaboliques:

     —Quelle grande bête, avec tout son esprit, que votre marquise, pour vous avoir dit pareille chose! — fit la duchesse  […].

     ‘What a beast your marquise is, for all her spirit, for having told you such a thing!’ said the duchess.

   • 1918, Jean Giradoux, Simon le pathétique:

     Quelle belle fleur que la rose! dit-elle soudain, alors qu’aucune rose n’était en vue […].

     ‘What a beautiful flower the rose is!’ she said suddenly, though no rose was in sight.

• Unlike its English counterpart, que (sense 1) cannot be omitted in Standard French.

• parce que
• que de
• bien que

Inherited from Latin quam.

que

1. introduces a comparison
   1. (comparisons of superiority or inferiority) than

      Il est plus grand que son père.

      He is taller than his father.

   2. (comparisons of equality) as

      Elle est aussi intelligente que toi.

      She is as smart as you.

2. (used with ne) only, just; but, nothing but

   Synonym: seulement

   Je ne mange que des fruits.

   I eat nothing but fruit.

   • c. 1656–1662, Blaise Pascal, “Dossier de travail - Fragment n° 19 / 35”, in Pensées [Thoughts]‎:

     Nous souhaitons la vérité et ne trouvons en nous qu’incertitude. Nous recherchons le bonheur et ne trouvons que misère et mort.

     We hope for truth and find in ourselves nothing but uncertainty. We search again for happiness and find only misery and death.

3. how (in rhetorical interjections)

   Que c’est beau!

   How beautiful it is!

   Mais que t’es drôle, quoi.

   Oh, how funny you are.

• Though it may look like a negative structure, the construction ne...que, is not a true negative. The partitive article is used after it and does not change into de as with other negatives.
  • When using ne...que, ne precedes the verb and que normally precedes what it is restricting:

  Il ne mange les pâtes que le samedi ― He eats pasta only on Saturday [not other days]

  Il ne mange que les pâtes le samedi ― He eats only pasta on Saturday [and nothing else]

  • Compare the positive and negative forms of the construction, both from the 2018 song Flou by the Belgian singer Angèle, noting the common informal omission of the particle ne:

Tu t’ sens comme la reine du monde, mais c’est qu’une impression.

You feel like the queen of the world, but it's only a feeling.

Tu t’ sens un peu seul au monde ; c’est pas qu’une impression.

You feel a bit alone in the world; it's not just a feeling.

Inherited from Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Doublet of quoi 'what', the tonic/emphasized counterpart, hence diphthongized.

que m (interrogative)

1. (slightly formal, accusative) The inanimate direct-object interrogative pronoun.

   Que pensez-vous de cette peinture ?

   What do you think of that painting?

   Qu’auriez-vous fait d’autre ?

   What else would you have done?

   • 2014, “Égo”, performed by Indila:

     Qu’a-t-on fait de la vérité ?

     What have we done with the truth?

2. (slightly formal, nominative) The inanimate subject or predicative interrogative pronoun.

   Qu’est-il arrivé ? ― What happened?

   Que me vaut cette visite ? ― To what do I owe this visit?

   Que sommes-nous ? ― What are we?

• (colloquial) qu’est-ce que (object); qu’est-ce qui (subject)

Inherited from Latin quem.

que m or f

1. (accusative, relative) The direct object relative pronoun.

   C’est un homme que je connais très bien.

   He's a man whom I know very well.

   Je viens de lire la lettre que vous m’avez envoyée.

   I've just read the letter that you sent me.

• quoi

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

• IPA^(key): /kɪ/

• Audio

  (file)

From Old Galician-Portuguese que, from Latin quid.

que

1. that
2. than (used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison)

   Synonym: que non

   O inverno é mais frío que o verán.

   Winter is colder than summer.

From Latin quid.

que

1. what; which (interrogative only)

   ¿Que camisa queres? ― Which shirt do you want?

que

1. how; what (comparative)

   que lástima ― how sad

2. used to express an adjective; how [mostly not translated]

   que feo ― ¡[how] ugly!

   que alto ― ¡[how] tall!

   que bonito ― ¡[how] cool!

que

1. what (interrogative only)

   ¿Que ves? ― What do you see?

2. that, which

que

1. that

   Pra xogar , non vos fai falta que vos den consello.

   To play, It isn't necessary that you give advice.

que f (plural ques)

1. name of the letter q

• “que”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012

From q (/kw/) +‎ -e.

• IPA^(key): /kwe/, /kwɛ/

que (plural que-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter Q/q.

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze ^{(Category: io:Latin letter names)}

From Portuguese que, from Old Galician-Portuguese que, from Latin quid (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid.

que

1. that; which
   • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:

     […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.

     […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

• IPA^(key): /k(w)e/

que

1. that

que

1. what (interrogative)

   Que tu prefere? ― What do you prefer?

• perque
• proque
• quecunque, qualcunque, etc.

que

1. Nonstandard spelling of quē.
2. Nonstandard spelling of qué.
3. Nonstandard spelling of què.

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

From Latin quia.

que

1. that

From Latin quid.

que

1. what
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 61:

     si en fut tant dolent qu'il ne sçavoit que dire

     then he was so sad that he didn't know what to say

• French: que

• IPA^(key): /ke/

• Audio (Béarn)

  (file)

From Latin quem, accusative of quī.

que

1. (relative) that, which

• qué

From Latin quid, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis.

que

1. (relative) that
2. (in comparisons) than

• ke

From Latin quid, quis.

• IPA^(key): /kə/

que

1. (interrogative) what, who
2. (indefinite) (that) which

que

1. that

• kil

• Middle French: que
  • French: que

• q̃, q̇ (abbreviation, in manuscripts)

From Latin quid (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid.

que

1. that (introduces a connecting clause)

• Fala: que
• Galician: que
• Portuguese: que
  • Indo-Portuguese: que

From Latin quid, quis.

que

1. (interrogative) what, who
2. (indefinite) (that) which

• Occitan: qué

que

1. that

• q (abbreviation)
• q̃ (abbreviation, obsolete)

From Old Galician-Portuguese que, from Latin quid (“what”) (usurping as well the roles of Latin quod), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷid, compare *kʷis. Cognate with English who.

• Homophones: qui (Brazil), quê (South Brazil)
• Hyphenation: que

que

1. that (connecting noun clause)
   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix] (Harry Potter; 5), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 227:

     Pensei que você tivesse dito que ela estava só mandando você escrever!

     I thought that you had said that she was just ordering you to write!

   • 2007, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] (Harry Potter; 7), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 588:

     Pensei que eles fossem invisíveis.

     I thought that they were invisible.

2. that (introducing the result of the main clause)

   Está tão frio que os canos congelaram.

   It is so cold that the pipes froze

3. than (used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison)

   O inverno é mais frio que o verão.

   Winter is colder than summer.

4. (only in subordinate clauses) seeing as; since; for; because (introduces explanatory clause)

   Espere um pouco que a chuva já vai parar.

   Wait a little: for the rain is about to stop.

   • 1878, Machado de Assis, O Machete (short story):

     Nas horas de lazer, tratava Inácio do querido instrumento e fazia vibrar todas as cordas do coração, derramando as suas harmonias interiores, e fazendo chorar a boa velha de melancolia e gosto, que ambos estes sentimentos lhe inspirava a música do filho.

     In his times of leisure, Inácio took care of the loved instrument and made all heartstrings vibrate, outpouring his inner harmonies, and making the good old woman cry with melancholy and pleasure: for both these feelings the son’s music inspired in her.

5. (only in subordinate clauses) and (indicating the consequences of an action, often threateningly)

   Quebre as regras que você será punido.

   Break the rules and you will be arrested.

6. short for porque ("because")

   Levantem os pés, que eu vou esfregar o chão.

   Raise your feet, cause I am going to scrub the floor.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:que.

• (than): do que
• (because): por causa que, porque

que

1. (interrogative) what (used to ask for a specification)

   Que livro é esse? ― What book is this?

2. what a (preceding nouns) (indicates surprise, delight, or other strong feelings)

   Que jogador! ― What a player!

que (not comparable)

1. how (preceding adjectives) (indicates surprise, delight, or other strong feelings)

   Que belo!

   How beautiful!

que

1. (relative) which; that; who (of those mentioned)

   Li uma notícia que era muito desagradável.

   I read news that was very unpleasant.

2. (relative, colloquial) whose
   • 1996, “Rap do Silva”, performed by MC Bob Rum:

     Era só mais um Silva que a estrela não brilha

     He was just another Silva whose star doesn't shine

3. (indefinite) what thing

   Synonym: o que

Inherited from Latin quid (“what”), but usurping all the roles of Latin quod. Cognate with English who.

• IPA^(key): /ke/ [ke]

• Audio:

  (file)

• (Mexico)

  Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: que
• Homophone: qué

que

1. that

   Él dice que está triste.

   He says that he is sad.

2. than

   Llego más tarde que tú.

   I am arriving later than you.

3. indicating a reason; because, for

   ¡Ve más lento, que es resbaloso!

   Slow down, (for) it is slippery!

4. indicating desire or permission; may (used with the subjunctive)

   Que te vaya bien.

   Good luck to you.

   (literally, “May it go well for you.”)

   Que Dios me perdone.

   May God forgive me.

que

1. who; that

   Synonym: (Internet slang, text messaging) q

   la estrella que está en la película

   the star who is in the movie

2. that; whom

   la mujer con la que yo hablé

   the woman with whom I spoke

3. that; which

   la casa que yo quiero

   the house that I want

que

1. than
2. like, as

que

1. to

• q (Internet slang, text messaging)

• “que”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

From Proto-Vietic *k-vɛː; cognate with Muong que and Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰwɛː¹.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kwɛ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kwɛ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [wɛ˧˧]

(classifier cái, cây) que • (𣠗, 𢹾)

1. small stick