whose

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishwhos,fromOld Englishhwæs,fromProto-Germanic*hwes,genitive case of*hwaz(“who”)*hwat(“what”).

Pronunciation

• (UK,US)IPA^(key):/huːz/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-uːz
• Homophones:who's,whos

Determiner

whose

1. (interrogative)Ofwhom,belonging towhom;which person's or people's.

   Whosewallet is this?

2. (relative)Ofwhom,belonging towhom.

   This is the manwhosedog caused the accident.

   (= This man's dog caused the accident.)

   Venus,whosesister is Serena, won the latest championship.

   Pat and Lou,whosehouse we visited last year

   • 1921,Ben Travers,chapter 5, inA Cuckoo in the Nest,Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, Page & Company,published1925,→OCLC:

     The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cadswhosegluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

3. (relative)Ofwhich,belonging towhich.

   We saw several houseswhoserooves were falling off.

   (= The rooves were falling off several houses that we saw.)

Derived terms

• whose foot the shoe is on
• whose ox is gored
• you and whose army

Translations

of whom (interrogative)

• Arabic:لِمَن(liman)
• Armenian:please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian:чый(čyj)
• Bulgarian:чий(čij)
• Catalan:dequi
• Chickasaw:kata
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Ai/Ai(zh)(shuí de, shéi de)

• Czech:čí(cs)
• Danish:hvis(da)
• Dutch:van wie,wiens(nl)morn,wier(nl)fpl
• Esperanto:kies(eo)
• Estonian:kelle
• Finnish:kenen(fi)
• French:àqui
• Galician:dequen
• Georgian:ვისი(ka)(visi)
• German:wessen(de)
• Greek:ποιανούmorn(poianoú),ποιανήςf(poianís),ποιανώνmplorfplornpl(poianón),τίνος(el)morforn(tínos)

  Ancient:τινῶνmplorfplornpl(tinôn),τίνοςmorforn(tínos),τοῦmorforn(toû)

• Hebrew:שֶׁלמִי(shel mi)
• Hindi:किसका(kis kā),किसका(kiskā)
• Hungarian:kinek(a/az)…-a/-e/-ja/-je/-i/-ai/-ei/-jai/-jei?(only in adjectival/determiner's position; for the predicative/pronoun's position, see the other sense below)
• Ido:di qua(io)
• Indonesian:punya siapa
• Irish:céleis
• Italian: dichi
• Japanese:Ai の(ja)(だれ の, dare no),どなた の(ja)(donata no)(honorific)
• Kazakh:

  Arabic:كىمنىڭ

  Cyrillic:кімнің(kımnıñ)

• Korean:누구의(ko)(nuguui),누구것(nugu geot)
• Kyrgyz:кимдики(kimdiki),кимдин(kimdin)
• Latin:cuius(la)morforn,quorum(la)mplornpl,quarum(la)fpl
• Macedonian:чиј(čij)
• Malay:milik siapa,kepunyaan siapa
• Malayalam:ആരുടെ(āruṭe)
• Mazanderani:کنی(kënê, këni)
• Mongolian:

  Classical Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ(ken-ü)

  Cyrillic:хэний(xenii)

  Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ(ken-ü)

• Navajo:háí bi-
• Norwegian:hvem sin,hvems,hvis(no)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic:чии(čii)

• Old English:hwæs
• Polish:czyj(pl)
• Portuguese: dequem(pt)
• Russian:чей(ru)(čej),че́йный(čéjnyj)(colloquial, nonstandard)
• Serbo-Croatian:чѝјӣ,čìjī
• Slovak:čí
• Slovene:čigáv(sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian:ceji

• Spanish: dequién(es)
• Swedish:vems(sv)
• Tamil:யாருடைய(yāruṭaiya)
• Turkish:kimin(tr)
• Tuvan:кымның(kımnıñ),кым(kım)
• Ukrainian:чий(čyj)
• Urdu:کسکا(kis kā)
• Vietnamese:củaai
• Volapük:kima
• Yakut:ким(kim)
• Yiddish:וועמענס(vemens)

of whom (relative)

• Arabic:اَلَّذِي(ar)m(allaḏī),اَلَّتِيf(allatī),اَلَّذِينَmpl(allaḏīna),اَللَّوَاتِيfpl(al-lawātī)
• Catalan: el subjecte delqual(ca),dequi(ca)
• Czech:jehož(cs)mornjejíž(cs)fjejichž(cs)pl
• Danish:hvis(da)
• Dutch:van wie,wiens(nl)morn,wier(nl)fpl
• Esperanto:kies(eo)
• Estonian:kelle
• Finnish:jonka(fi)
• French:de qui,dont(fr),duquel(fr)(de+lequel)
• Galician: dequen(gl),cuxo(gl)m
• Georgian:რომლის(romlis)
• German:dessen(de)morn,deren(de)fpl
• Greek:τουοποίουmorn(tou opoíou),τηςοποίαςf(tis opoías),τωνοποίωνmplorfplornpl(ton opoíon)

  Ancient:οὗmorn(hoû),ἧςf(hês),ὧνmorforn(hôn),οἷνmduorndu(hoîn),αἷνfdu(haîn)

• Hindi:जिसका(hi)(jiskā)
• Hungarian:akinek(a/az)…-a/-e/-ja/-je/-i/-ai/-ei/-jai/-jei
• Indonesian:yang(id),yangmana
• Irish:a(indirect relative followed by resumptive possessive pronoun)
• Italian: ilcui(it)
• Kazakh:

  Arabic:كىمنىڭ

  Cyrillic:кімнің(kımnıñ)

• Latin:cuius(la)morforn,quorum(la)mplornpl,quarum(la)fpl
• Mongolian:

  Classical Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ(ken-ü)

  Cyrillic:хэний(xenii)

  Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ(ken-ü)

• Nheengatu:waá
• Norwegian:hvis(no)
• Polish:który(pl)m
• Portuguese:cujo(pt)m,cuja(pt)f
• Romanian:cui(ro)
• Russian:чей(ru)(čej)
• Slovene:čígar(sl)
• Spanish: dequien(es),cuyo(es)m,cuya(es)f,cuyasfpl,cuyos(es)mpl
• Swedish:vars(sv)
• Tuvan:кымның(kımnıñ),кым(kım)
• Urdu:جس کا(jis kā)
• Yakut:ким(kim)

of which (relative)

• Czech:jehož(cs)mornjejíž(cs)fjejichž(cs)pl
• Danish:hvis(da)
• Dutch:waarvan(nl)
• Esperanto:kies(eo)
• Estonian:mille(et)
• Finnish:jonka(fi)
• French:dont(fr),duquel(fr)m,de laquelle(fr)f,desquels(fr)mpl,desquelles(fr)fpl
• Galician:cuxo(gl)m,cuxaf
• Georgian:რომლის(romlis)
• German:dessen(de)morn,deren(de)fpl
• Hindi:जिसका(hi)(jiskā)
• Hungarian:aminek/amelynek(a/az)…-a/-e/-ja/-je/-i/-ai/-ei/-jai/-jei
• Indonesian:yang(id),yang mana
• Interlingua:cuje
• Irish:a(ga)(indirect relative followed by resumptive possessive pronoun)
• Italian: ilcui(it)
• Latin:cuius(la)morforn,quorum(la)mplornpl,quarum(la)fpl
• Nheengatu:waá
• Norwegian:hvis(no)
• Polish:który(pl)m
• Portuguese:cujo(pt)m,cuja(pt)f,cujos(pt)mpl,cujas(pt)fpl
• Russian:кото́рого(ru)(kotórovo),чей(ru)(čej)
• Spanish:cuyo(es)m,cuya(es)f,cuyos(es)pl,cuyasfpl
• Swedish:vars(sv)
• Urdu:جس کا(jis kā)

Pronoun

whose

1. (interrogative)That or those ofwhomor belonging to whom.

   Several people have lost their suitcases.Whosehave you found?

2. (relative)That or those ofwhomor belonging to whom.

   This car is blocking the way, but Mr Smith,whoseit is, will be here shortly.

   • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Acts27:23:

     For there stood by me this night the angel of God,whoseI am, and whom I serve,

   • 1833,Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 3,page 637 (Google Books view):

     If he starts it on another man's lands, and kills it there, it belongs to the owner of the land; but if he start game on one man's lands, and pursue it to those of another, and kill it there, it is neither the property of the man on whose lands it is started, nor of him onwhoseit is killed, but belongs to the killer.

   • 1895,Library Journal, Volume 20,page 397 (Google Books view):

     The notes on authors are extremely brilliant and incisive, not always in good perspective and sometimes freaky in their wit, as, for instance, the reference to Mrs. Holmes, of whose books it is said, "The secret of their long popularity has never been divulged by their readers," and Mrs. Harris, ofwhoseit is said, "To a lively mind they should be conducive of profound sleep," which, whatever its faults, is by no means true of "Rutledge."

Translations

(interrogative) that or those of whom or belonging to whom

• French:àqui?
• German:(whose is/are, to whom does it / do they belong?)wemgehört/gehören?,wessen(de),wessen(de)
• Hungarian:kié?
• Kazakh:

  Arabic:كىمدىكى

  Cyrillic:кімдікі(kımdıkı)

• Latin:cuius(la)
• Manchu:ᠸᡝᡳ᠌ᠩᡤᡝ(weingge)
• Mongolian:

  Classical Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ᠋ᠡᠶᠢᠬᠢ(keneyiki)

  Cyrillic:хэнийх(xeniix)

  Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠬᠢ(ken-ü-ki)

• Turkish:kiminki
• Tuvan:кымныы(kımnıı)
• Yakut:кимиэнэ(kimiene)

(relative) that or those of whom or belonging to whom

• Hungarian:akié
• Kazakh:

  Arabic:كىمدىكى

  Cyrillic:кімдікі(kımdıkı)

• Latin:cuius(la)
• Manchu:ᠸᡝᡳ᠌ᠩᡤᡝ(weingge)
• Mongolian:

  Classical Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ᠋ᠡᠶᠢᠬᠢ(keneyiki)

  Cyrillic:хэнийх(xeniix)

  Mongolian:ᠬᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠬᠢ(ken-ü-ki)

• Portuguese:cujo(pt)
• Tuvan:кымныы(kımnıı)
• Yakut:кимиэнэ(kimiene)

Contraction

whose

1. Misspelling ofwho's.

Anagrams

• Howes,Howse,howes,showe,whoes

Middle English

Pronoun

whose

1. (chieflyLate Middle English)Alternative form ofwhos(“whose”,genitive)