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τίς

tís

G5101 interrogative pronoun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Interrogative pronoun asking about identity, nature, or kind; primarily 'who?' (of a person), 'which?' (of alternatives), or 'what?' (of things or circumstances). Also used in indirect questions to introduce uncertainty or inquiry about subject, object, or characteristic. In some idioms and negative statements, approximates indefinite or negative sense (e.g., 'anyone,' 'anything,' 'no one,' 'nothing').

Semantic Range

who?, which?, what?, what sort of?, who (anyone) in negative or conditional clauses, any (thing, one), no one, nothing, why (in some constructions), indirect question marker, interrogative pronoun for person or thing

Root / Etymology

Unrelated to the verb root; forms an element of Greek interrogative stems (τι-, τιν-) for 'who?'/'what?' (τίς) and 'someone' (τις, enclitic, with different accent). Derived from Proto-Indo-European *kwi-, echoing cognates found throughout Indo-European languages as interrogatives (Latin quis, Sanskrit kaḥ). Distinguished by the acute accent to mark the interrogative (τίς) from the indefinite (τις).

Historical & Contextual Notes

τίς is the standard interrogative pronoun in Greek, used from the earliest archaic and classical attestations through to Koine, including the Septuagint and New Testament texts. It functions both as a stand-alone question ('who?') or embedded in indirect queries ('He asked who...') and can reference persons or things depending on context. Unlike the English 'who' and 'what,' τίς covers both animate and inanimate referents. The form regularly appears with the acute accent (τίς/τί) to differentiate from the indefinite enclitic τις/τι ('someone,' 'something'), which lacks the accent on the first syllable. In certain contexts, τίς occurs in phrases yielding a sense akin to 'anyone'/'anything' or, with a negative, 'no one'/'nothing' (e.g., οὐδεὶς = 'no one'). English translations rarely render the full nuance of τίς, particularly when it shades into indefinites or functions in idiomatic expressions. The word is foundational for questions and inquiry in Greek, with a flexible usage extending to both persons and things; this breadth is sometimes flattened in translation.

Translation Consistency

primary "who" 156 occurrences

τίς primarily asks about identity or person — the typical, natural English rendering is “who.” It also covers indefinite/negative uses (anyone/no one) and indirect questions. Although τίς can sometimes mean “what,” using “who” preserves the primary sense and yields the most natural, consistent base word for all forms.

Alternatives (395 occurrences):
"what" (327x) "why" (35x) "whom" (28x) "what then" (2x) "what therefore" (1x) "some whom" (1x) "what sort" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably emphatic of τὶς; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), + no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, - with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

Root Family

τίς (tis) — who, what, which; interrogative inquiry about identity or kind

Root τι- to ask who, what, which

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5101-01 τί ti DET ACC N SG what what? what 339
G5101-08 τίς tis PRO.Q NOM M SG who who? who? 145
G5101-02 τίνα tina DET ACC M SG whom whom? whom? 24
G5101-05 τίνι tini PRO.Q DAT N SG what to whom? to who? 19
G5101-07 τίνος tinos PRO.Q GEN M SG whose of whom? of who? 13
G5101-04 τίνες tines PRO.Q NOM M PL who some people who 5
G5101-06 τίνων tinon PRO.Q GEN M PL whom of whom? of whom 3
G5101-03 τίνας tinas PRO.Q ACC M PL whom some some whom 2
G5101-09 τίσιν tisin PRO.Q DAT M PL to whom to some to whom 2

Occurrences in Scripture

552 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5101-08 Matthew 3:7 τίς tis PRO.Q NOM M SG who who? who?
G5101-05 Matthew 5:13 τίνι tini PRO.Q DAT N SG what to whom? by what
G5101-02 Matthew 5:46 τίνα tina DET ACC M SG what whom? whom?
G5101-01 Matthew 5:47 τί ti DET ACC N SG what what? what?
G5101-01 Matthew 6:3 τί ti PRO.Q ACC N SG what what? what
G5101-01 Matthew 6:25 τί ti PRO.Q ACC N SG what what? what
G5101-01 Matthew 6:25 τί ti-2 PRO.Q ACC N SG what what? what
G5101-01 Matthew 6:25 τί ti-3 PRO.Q ACC N SG what what? what
G5101-08 Matthew 6:27 τίς tis PRO.Q NOM M SG Which who? who?
G5101-01 Matthew 6:28 τί ti PRO.Q ACC N SG why what? what
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