чији / чија / чије

Asking Whose

Level 1Sounds Like čiǰi; čiǰa; čiǰe

Use чији (masculine), чија (feminine), and чије (neuter) to ask "whose". Crucially, it matches the gender and number of the thing being possessed, not the owner.

How It Works

When asking about ownership in Serbian, use the interrogative adjectival pronoun чији.

1. Gender and Number Agreement
Unlike in English, where "whose" never changes, the Serbian pronoun must match the noun that is owned in gender, number, and case:

  • Чији је ово пасош? (Whose passport is this? — пасош is masculine singular)
  • Чија је ово књига? (Whose book is this? — књига is feminine singular)
  • Чије је оно дете? (Whose child is that? — дете is neuter singular)

2. Plural Forms
In the nominative plural, the masculine form stays identical to the singular (чији), while feminine and neuter change their endings:

  • Masculine plural: чији (e.g., чији кључеви — whose keys; remains identical to singular чији)
  • Feminine plural: чије (e.g., чије патике — whose sneakers; changes from singular чија)
  • Neuter plural: чија (e.g., чија писма — whose letters; changes from singular чије)

Be careful: feminine plural ends in -е and neuter plural ends in -а.

3. Answering Questions with чији
Questions with чији naturally prompt answers using possessive pronouns (e.g., Мој, Њен), possessive adjectives (e.g., Марков, Анин), or genitive noun phrases indicating possession.

4. Word Order in Predicate Questions
A very common pattern combines чији with the short present copula је / су and the demonstrative pronoun ово / то / оно:
• Чији је ово телефон? (Whose phone is this?)
• Чије су ово књиге? (Whose books are these?)

Examples (5)

  1. Чији је ово пасош? — Мој.

    Whose passport is this? — Mine.

    Word by Word: Whose is this passport? Mine.

    Пасош is a masculine singular noun, so the masculine form чији is used.

  2. Чија је ово књига? — Анина.

    Whose book is this? — Ana's.

    Word by Word: Whose is this book? Ana's.

    Књига is a feminine singular noun, requiring the feminine form чија.

  3. Чије је оно дете? — Њихово.

    Whose child is that? — Theirs.

    Word by Word: Whose is that child? Theirs.

    Дете is a neuter singular noun, so the neuter form чије is required.

  4. Чији су ово кључеви? — Маркови.

    Whose keys are these? — Marko's.

    Word by Word: Whose are these keys? Marko's.

    Кључеви is masculine plural, taking the masculine plural form чији along with plural verb су.

  5. Чије су ово патике? — Моје.

    Whose sneakers are these? — Mine.

    Word by Word: Whose are these sneakers? Mine.

    Патике is feminine plural, taking the feminine plural form чије.

Common Mistakes

  • Matching чији to the gender of the owner instead of the object owned.

    Чија је ово телефон?
    Чији је ово телефон?

    Even if you are asking a woman about ownership, телефон is a masculine noun. The question word must agree with телефон (чији), never with the person who owns it.

  • Using the genitive form of ко (кога) to ask "whose".

    Кога је ово књига?
    Чија је ово књига?

    In standard Serbian, you cannot ask possession using кога је ово. You must use the possessive interrogative pronoun чији/чија/чије.

  • Swapping feminine and neuter nominative plural endings.

    Чија су ово књиге?
    Чије су ово књиге?

    Although -а marks feminine in the singular, feminine plural takes -е (чије књиге). The plural ending -а belongs to neuter nouns (чија писма).

How It Connects

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чији / чија / чијеLevel 1Asking Whose

Learn This First

Using 'чији / чија / чије' requires knowing noun genders and understanding that the question word agrees with the item possessed rather than the person who owns it. Familiarity with possessive pronouns (like 'мој') and the present tense of 'бити' ('је') is also essential for forming standard questions and answers.

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Words in This Pattern

чији