cual

1) Meaning (English)

cuál (with accent) — interrogative/exclamative

Used in questions and exclamations to mean:

• which? / what?
• which one?
• what kind? (depending on context)

Examples of meaning:

• ¿Cuál es tu nombre? → “What is your name?”
• ¿Cuál prefieres? → “Which one do you prefer?”
• ¡Cuál fue mi sorpresa! → “What a surprise it was!”

cual (without accent) — relative pronoun

Used to refer back to something already mentioned, often meaning:

• which / that
• the one that It frequently appears in more formal Spanish, especially in expressions like el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales (“which/that”).

Examples of meaning:

• El libro, el cual compré ayer… → “The book, which I bought yesterday…”
• No hay motivo por el cual quejarse. → “There is no reason for which to complain.”

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2) Parts / Form

• Base form: cual
• Interrogative/exclamative form: cuál (accent mark shows stress and distinguishes it from the relative form)
• Gender/number agreement in the relative form (common in formal use):
  • el cual / la cual / los cuales / las cuales

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3) Spanish synonyms

These depend on the use:

For cuál (question/exclamation):

• qué (often overlaps, but not always interchangeable)
• cuál de… ≈ qué … (in some contexts)

For cual (relative, “which/that”):

• que (very common, less formal)
• el que / la que / los que / las que (often similar to el cual in meaning)

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4) Spanish antonyms

There are no direct antonyms for cuál/cual, since they are pronouns used to ask/relate information rather than express an opposite meaning.