какой vs какой-нибудь
kakoy vs kakoy-nibud' — what kind/which vs any kind/some
Register: neutral
What it really means
Какой asks for a quality, kind, or choice: what kind, which. Какой-нибудь leaves the choice open: any kind, some unspecified one.
The suffix -нибудь is especially natural in requests, questions, and future or conditional situations.
Examples in natural speech
Какой фильм ты хочешь?
Which film do you want?
Какой у него адрес?
What is his address?
Какую музыку ты слушаешь?
What kind of music do you listen to?
Посоветуй какой-нибудь фильм.
Recommend some film.
Есть какой-нибудь вопрос?
Is there any question?
Common mistakes
Do not add -нибудь when asking for a specific description. Какой asks; какой-нибудь makes the answer unrestricted.
Memory tip
Bare какой seeks information; -нибудь accepts any suitable answer.
Frequently asked questions
Which is common in a request?
Какой-нибудь.
Does it decline?
Yes: какую-нибудь, какого-нибудь.
Can какой mean which?
Yes.
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