14998
Given my understanding, it seems like "どちら" has the exclusive meaning of
"which one (of two)" and "どれ" means "which one (of many)". Does どっち include
both of these meanings?

Also, do all of these strictly mean which one instead of which ones? Is there
a different word to use when you want to say which ones?
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2014-03-23T03:20:02.020
14997
2014-03-23T05:50:24.987
2014-03-23T03:42:35.967
3221
3221
question
words
Can どっち mean which one of many?
「どっち」 can only mean "which one of the two"; No exceptions. It is simply the
colloquial way of saying 「どちら」.

「どちら」, however, has another meaning of "which place" or "where" out of many
places. When it is used for that meaning, it is NOT interchangeable with
「どっち」. Instead, it becomes interchangeable with 「どこ」.

To answer your second question, which is actually more complicated than you
seem to think because of the place-related meaning of 「どちら」, I am going to say
that GENERALLY, 「どちら」 and 「どっち」 strictly mean "which one", not "which ones",
but when 「どちら」 refers to a place, it can mean "which places" in the plural.
「どれ」 can swing both ways between singular and plural.

Hand-made example sentences:

You are asking someone which one of the two candies s/he wants.

> A: 「どっち/どちらのお[菓子]{かし}がほしい？」
>
> B: 「こっち (or そっち)。」 B will say either of the two by pointing a finger to one
> of the two candies.

A and B are in a clothing store selecting tee-shirts to buy.

> A: 「どれにする？」= "Which one(s) are you getting?"
>
> B: 「この[青]{あお}いのと、あの[赤]{あか}いのにする。」= "This blue one and that red one."
>
> B could have just chosen one instead. This is what I meant by "どれ can swing
> both ways".

B is going to Europe.

> A: 「[今回]{こんかい}はどちらを[廻]{まわ}られるんですか。」= "What places/countries are you going to
> this time?"
>
> B: 「フランス、イタリア、スペインです。」
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2014-03-23T05:50:24.987
14998
2014-03-23T05:50:24.987
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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14997
answer