що за

What Kind of with Що За

Level 6Sounds Like ŝo za

Що за + noun means "what kind of": Що за човек е той? (What kind of person is he?) Що за глупост! (What nonsense!)

How It Works

1. Questions. Що за + noun (without the article) + verb:

  • Що за човек е той? (What kind of person is he?)
  • Що за книга четеш? (What sort of book are you reading?)

Neutral какъв agrees with the noun (какъв човек, каква книга), but що за stays the same: що за човек, що за книга, що за хора.

2. Exclamations. Що за is very common in exclamations of surprise or disapproval: Що за глупост! (What nonsense!) Що за поведение! (What behaviour!) Compare exclamations with колко and какъв.

3. Indirect questions. It also works inside a longer sentence, with no comma before it: Не знам що за птица е това. (I don't know what kind of bird this is.) See indirect questions.

4. Not "why" or "what for". Here за is part of the fixed phrase and does not mean "for". To ask "why" or "what for", use защо or за какво.

5. Register. On its own, що is an old word for "what": Що ще правим сега? (What shall we do now?) In casual speech, що alone also means "why": Що не дойде? (Why didn't you come?) Що за itself is alive in everyday speech and writing.

Examples (6)

  1. Що за човек е той?

    What kind of person is he?

  2. Що за глупост!

    What nonsense!

  3. Що за въпрос е това?

    What kind of question is that?

    The question suggests the speaker finds the question strange.

  4. Що за хора пишат такива неща?

    What sort of people write such things?

  5. Не знам що за птица е това.

    I don't know what kind of bird this is.

  6. Що за време! Цял ден вали.

    What weather! It's been raining all day.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the article on the noun after що за.

    Що за човекът е той?
    Що за човек е той?

    The noun after що за is always without the article.

  • Using що за to ask "what for".

    Що за си дошъл?
    За какво си дошъл?

    Що за must be followed by a noun and asks what kind of thing something is. To ask about a purpose, use за какво or защо.

How It Connects

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

що заLevel 6What Kind of with Що За

Learn This First

Що за follows какъв.

Words in This Pattern

що защо