чийто/чиято/чието/чиито

Relative Whose

Level 4Sounds Like čijto/čiâto/čieto/čiito

Чийто is the relative whose. Choose the form that matches the owned noun phrase that follows it; an adjective may intervene before the head noun: писателят, чиято книга чета (книга is feminine).

How It Works

1. Four forms. The relative whose is built from the question word чий plus -то, just as който is built from кой:

  • чийто before a masculine noun: момчето, чийто баща е лекар (the boy whose father is a doctor)
  • чиято before a feminine noun: писателят, чиято книга чета (the writer whose book I am reading)
  • чието before a neuter noun: съседите, чието куче лае (the neighbors whose dog is barking)
  • чиито before a plural noun: децата, чиито родители работят (the children whose parents work)

2. Agreement with the thing owned. This is the main trap for English speakers. In мъжът, чиято жена работи тук (the man whose wife works here), the owner is a man, but the form is feminine because жена is feminine.

3. Word order. The relative word comes first in its clause, and the owned noun phrase follows it; an adjective or other modifier may intervene before the head noun. A preposition goes in front of both: приятелката ми, в чиято къща живях (my friend, in whose house I lived), колегата, с чиято помощ завърших (the colleague with whose help I finished).

4. Spelling. The masculine чийто is written with й; the plural чиито has two и letters. They sound similar, so check the noun: a plural noun needs чиито.

5. Style. Чийто is standard in writing and careful speech. Relaxed speech often rephrases the sentence instead, for example with на in a separate clause.

Examples (6)

  1. Писателят, чиято книга чета, живее в Пловдив.

    The writer whose book I am reading lives in Plovdiv.

    Чиято is feminine because книга is feminine.

  2. Съседите, чието куче лае, са на почивка.

    The neighbors whose dog is barking are on vacation.

  3. Това е момчето, чийто баща е лекар.

    This is the boy whose father is a doctor.

  4. Децата, чиито родители работят до късно, остават в училище.

    Children whose parents work late stay at school.

    The plural чиито has two и letters.

  5. Приятелката ми, в чиято къща живях едно лято, се омъжи.

    My friend, in whose house I lived one summer, got married.

    The preposition в comes before чиято.

  6. Колегата, с чиято помощ завърших проекта, заслужава награда.

    The colleague with whose help I finished the project deserves an award.

Common Mistakes

  • Making чийто agree with the owner instead of the thing owned.

    Мъжът, чийто жена работи тук, е мой съсед.
    Мъжът, чиято жена работи тук, е мой съсед.

    The form follows жена, which is feminine, so it must be чиято, even though the owner is a man.

  • Writing the masculine чийто before a plural noun.

    Децата, чийто родители работят до късно, остават в училище.
    Децата, чиито родители работят до късно, остават в училище.

    Родители is plural, so the plural form чиито is needed. Чийто is only for a masculine singular noun.

  • Using който for whose.

    Писателят, който книга чета, живее в Пловдив.
    Писателят, чиято книга чета, живее в Пловдив.

    Който means who or which. To say whose, use a form of чийто that matches the owned noun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

чийто/чиято/чието/чиитоLevel 4Relative Whose

Learn This First

Relative whose builds on relatives and чий.

Words in This Pattern

чийто