wikipedia
English

rank|by|on|her|24|which|have|or|from

Etymology
OE. hwilc.

Pronunciation
enPR|wĭch, IPA|/wɪt�/, SAMPA|/wItS/
audio|en-us-which.ogg|Audio (US)
:rhymes|ɪt�

Homophones
wich, wych (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
witch

Adjective
en-adj|-

1. What, of those mentioned or implied (used interrogatively).

#: Which song made the charts?
#: They couldn't decide which song to play.

Translations
trans-top|what, of those mentioned or implied
Czech: který m, která f, které n
Dutch: welk, welke
Esperanto: kiu, kiuj
Finnish: mikä, kumpi
French: quel m, quelle f
German: welcher m, welche f, welches n
Japanese: ��
Hungarian: melyik
Italian: quale m and f
trans-mid
Kurdish: KUchar|کا�, KUchar|کا���
Lithuanian: kuris
Maltese: lima
Novial: qui
Polish: który m
Russian: ко�о��й (kotóryj) m
Slovene: kateri m, katera f, katero n
Spanish: cual
Swedish: vilken c, vilket n, vilka p
Yiddish: ���ָסער (sg), ���ָסערע (pl)
trans-bottom

Pronoun
en-pron

1. context|interrogative What one or ones (of those mentioned or implied).

#: Which is bigger?
#: Which is which?

1. context|relative The one or ones that.

#: Show me which is bigger.

1. context|relative Who; whom; what (of those mentioned or implied)

#: Their first song, which made the charts 2004, is great.

Usage notes
(US usage) Some authorities insist, prescriptively, that which should be used only in non-restrictive contexts. For restrictive contexts (e.g., The song that made the charts in 2004 is better than the later ones), they prefer that. Actual usage does not support this "rule." Fowler, who proposed the rule, himself acknowledged that it was "not the practice of most or of the best writers." Even E.B. White, a notorious "which-hunter," wrote this: "the premature expiration of a pig is, I soon discovered, a departure which the community marks solemnly on its calendar." In modern UK usage, The song which made the charts in 2004 is better than the later ones is generally accepted without question.

Quotations
1611 � w:King James Version of the Bible|King James Version of the Bible, s:Bible (King James)/Luke|Luke 1:1
:Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...

Translations
trans-top|(interrogative) what one or ones
Czech: který m, která f, které n
Dutch: welk, hetwelk, dewelke
Esperanto: kiu, kiuj
Finnish: mikä, kumpi
French: quel m, quelle f
German: welcher m, welche f, welches n
Japanese: ��
Hungarian: melyik
trans-mid
Italian: quale m and f
Kurdish: KUchar|کا�, KUchar|کا���
Novial: que m, f or n, s or p, ques m, f or n, p, quu n s or p, quus n p
Romanian: care#Romanian|care
Russian: ко�о��й (kotóryj) m
Slovene: kateri m, katera f, katero n
Spanish: cuál s, cuáles p
Swedish: vilken c, vilket n, vilka p
trans-bottom

trans-top|(relative) the one(s) that
Czech: který
Dutch: welk, dewelke, hetwelk
Esperanto: kiu, kiuj
Finnish: mikä, kumpi
French: lequel m, laquelle f, lesquels p, lesquelles f p
Indonesian: yang mana
Italian: il quale m, la quale f, i quali p, le quali f p
trans-mid
Kurdish: KUchar|ک���ا
Novial: tu kel n s or p, te kel m, f or n, s or p, tus kel n p, tes kel m, f or n p
Portuguese: aquele m, aquela f
Russian: ко�о��й (kotóryj) m
Spanish: cual s, cuales p
trans-bottom

trans-top|(relative) who, whom, what
Czech: který
Dutch: die, dat
Esperanto: kiu, kiuj
Finnish: joka
French: qui (referring to the subject); que (referring to the object)
:The one which hit me � Celui qui m�a frappé.
:The one which I wrote � Celui que j�ai écrit.
Hungarian: amelyik
Ido: qua
trans-mid
Indonesian: yang
Italian: che
Kurdish: KUchar|ک���ا
Novial: kel s or p, keles p
Romanian: care
Russian: ко�о��й (kotóryj)
Slovene: ki
Spanish: quien (if a person), que
Swedish: som, vilken c, vilket n, vilka p
trans-bottom

Derived terms
every which way
every which where
whichever
whichsoever

Category:English homophones
Category:100 English basic words
Category:English determiners

es:which
fr:which
ko:which
io:which
it:which
ku:which
la:which
hu:which
ja:which
pl:which
pt:which
simple:which
fi:which
ta:which
te:which
tr:which
zh:which

• 2007-10-05 23:14 - Interwicket - iwiki +te

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