vilket/vilka

Which (Relative)

Level 3

Use vilket to comment on or add information about a whole preceding sentence or clause. It means 'which'.

How It Works

vilket is a crucial relative pronoun for creating more complex and descriptive sentences in Swedish. It can refer to a neuter noun, or to the content of an entire preceding clause. The examples below focus on the latter use.

Using 'vilket' for Clauses
Think of vilket as the English 'which' when it comments on a whole situation. It is always the neuter form vilket in this usage, regardless of the gender or number of nouns in the main clause.

  • Structure: [Main Clause], vilket [comment/result].
  • Example: Han glömde min födelsedag, vilket gjorde mig ledsen. (He forgot my birthday, which made me sad.)

In this example, vilket refers to the entire action of 'him forgetting my birthday'.

'vilket' vs. 'som'
This is a very important distinction.

  • som refers to a specific noun (the antecedent).
    Jag såg filmen som du rekommenderade. (I saw the movie that you recommended.) - 'som' refers to 'filmen'.
  • vilket can refer to the whole clause.
    Jag såg hela filmen, vilket tog tre timmar. (I saw the whole movie, which took three hours.) - 'vilket' refers to the act of 'seeing the whole movie'.

Using 'vilka'
vilka is the plural form. It is used as a relative pronoun to refer back to specific plural nouns, often in a more formal or written style. In many cases, som can be used instead for a more neutral tone.

  • Example: Han har två systrar, vilka båda bor i Stockholm. (He has two sisters, both of whom live in Stockholm.)
  • More common alternative: Han har två systrar, som båda bor i Stockholm.

Vilka is the plural relative pronoun; in vilka båda, the complete phrase corresponds to “both of whom.” Vilka itself does not contain the meaning “of.”

A Noun Antecedent:
In a formal style, De köpte ett hus, vilket behövde renoveras means “They bought a house, which needed renovation.” Vilket refers to neuter hus here. Compare common-gender vilken and plural vilka. Thus the distinction is not simply “som for nouns, vilket for clauses.”

Examples (5)

  1. Han kom för sent, vilket gjorde mig arg.

    He came too late, which made me angry.

    Word by Word: He came too late, which made me angry.

    Here, 'vilket' refers to the entire fact that 'he came too late'.

  2. Laget vann matchen, vilket ingen hade förväntat sig.

    The team won the match, which nobody had expected.

    Word by Word: The team won the match, which nobody had expected themselves.

  3. Hon bestämde sig för att flytta till Sverige, vilket visade sig vara ett bra beslut.

    She decided to move to Sweden, which turned out to be a good decision.

    Word by Word: She decided herself for to move to Sweden, which showed itself to be a good decision.

  4. Vi missade tåget, vilket innebar att vi fick vänta i två timmar.

    We missed the train, which meant that we had to wait for two hours.

    Word by Word: We missed the train, which meant that we had to wait in two hours.

  5. De har flera barn, vilka alla studerar utomlands.

    They have several children, all of whom are studying abroad.

    Word by Word: They have several children, which all study abroad.

    This is an example of 'vilka' referring to the plural noun 'barn' (children). Using 'som' here ('som alla studerar...') is also very common and slightly less formal.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'som' to refer to a whole clause.

    Han kom för sent, som gjorde mig arg.
    Han kom för sent, vilket gjorde mig arg.

    For a supplementary comment on the entire event, use vilket. An alternative is Han kom för sent, något som gjorde mig arg, where som has the explicit antecedent något.

  • Using the wrong form (vilken/vilka) when referring to a clause.

    Det regnade hela dagen, vilka var tråkigt.
    Det regnade hela dagen, vilket var tråkigt.

    When referring to an entire situation or clause, you must always use the neuter form vilket. vilka is only used to refer back to specific plural nouns, and vilken is not used as a relative pronoun in this way.

How It Connects

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vilket/vilkaLevel 3Which (Relative)

Learn This First

To use 'vilket/vilka' as a relative pronoun, you first need to be familiar with the basic forms of 'vilken' (interrogative) and how they agree with nouns in gender and number. Since 'vilket' often functions as a relative pronoun referring to a whole sentence or in non-restrictive clauses, you must understand the basic structure of relative clauses (using 'som') and the specific word order rules for subordinate clauses in Swedish.

Words in This Pattern

vilken