which [wɪtʃ]
pronoun
1 (in direct and indirect questions, reported speech)
[Which]/[which one]/[which ones] in direct and indirect questions and after expressions of (un)certainty and doubt (e.g. [no sé]) usually translate as [cuál]/[cuáles]:
cuál which do you want? (offering one) ¿cuál quieres?; (offering two or more) ¿cuáles quieres?; I can't tell which is which no sé cuál es cuál; which of you did it? ¿cuál de vosotros lo hizo?; which of you is Kathleen? ¿cuál de vosotras es Kathleen?; I don't know which to choose no sé cuál escoger; tell me which you like best dime cuáles te gustan más; I don't mind which no me importa cuál
2 (relative) (replacing noun)
In relative clauses where [which] defines the noun it refers to, you can usually translate it as [que]. Note that in this type of sentence [which] can be substituted by [that] in English:
que the letter which came this morning was from my niece la carta que llegó esta mañana era de mi sobrina; it's an illness which causes nerve damage es una enfermedad que daña los nervios; do you remember the house which we saw last week? ¿te acuerdas de la casa que vimos la semana pasada?; the bear which I saw el oso que vi
If [which] is the object of a preposition, you can either translate it as [que] (usually preceded by the definite article) or as article + [cual]/[cuales]. Use the second option particularly in formal language or after long prepositions or prepositional phrases:
your letter, which I received this morning, cheered me up tu carta, que or (formal) la cual he recibido esta mañana, me ha levantado el ánimo; the bull which I'm talking about el toro del que or (formal) del cual estoy hablando; the meeting which we attended la reunión a la que or (formal) a la cual asistimos; the hotel at which we stayed el hotel en el que or (formal) en el cual nos hospedamos; the cities to which we are going las ciudades a las que or (formal) a las cuales vamos
he explained the means by which we could achieve our objective explicó los medios a través de los cuales podíamos alcanzar nuestro objetivo
If instead of defining the noun the [which] clause merely adds additional information, you can translate [which] using either [que] or article + [cual]/[cuales]:
the oak dining-table, which was a present from my father, seats 10 people comfortably la mesa de roble, que or la cual fue un regalo de mi padre, admite cómodamente diez comensales
(replacing clause) When [which] refers to the whole of a preceding sentence or idea, translate as [lo que] or [lo cual]:
it rained hard which upset her llovió mucho, lo que or lo cual le disgustó; they left early, which my wife did not like at all se marcharon pronto, lo cual or lo que no agradó nada a mi mujer
After a preposition only [lo cual] can be used:
after which we went to bed después de lo cual nos acostamos
from which we deduce that ... de lo cual deducimos que ...
adjective
1 (in direct and indirect questions, reported speech)
When [which] is used as an interrogative adjective, translate using [qué] + noun when the possibilities are very open or [cuál]/[cuáles de] + article + plural noun when the possibilities are limited:
qué which house do you live in? ¿en qué casa vives?; which day are they coming? ¿qué día vienen?; I don't know which tie he wants no sé qué corbata quiere; which picture do you prefer? ¿qué cuadro prefieres?; ¿cuál de los cuadros prefieres?; which option do you prefer? ¿cuál de las alternativas prefieres?
which way did she go? ¿por dónde se fue?
which one? ¿cuál?
I don't know which one to choose no sé cuál escoger; tell me which ones you like best dime cuáles te gustan más
2 (relative)
look which way you will ... mires por donde mires ...
he used "peradventure", which word is now archaic dijo "peradventure", palabra que ha quedado ahora anticuada
in which case en cuyo caso
he didn't get here till 10, by which time Jane had already left no llegó hasta las 10 y para entonces Jane ya se había ido