Thread: "What" is the difference between "что" and "каков"?

Originally Posted by Pretty Butterfly

So what is the difference between "каков" и "какой"? И "что"? I remain thoroughly confused on all these points.

Is it just bad luck that I have bumped into "каков" so early in my studies?

"какой" normally refers to an adjective in a normal form.
"каков" normally refers to an adjective in a short form.

Short form adjectives (as well as "каков") in contemporary Russian are rare, look old-fashioned and often have specific stylistic color: bookish or old. Though they are used in a number of traditional fixed phrases like proverbs etc.

As for in which situation which word should be used - I think it is mainly a matter of practice. Sometimes those words are interchangeable, sometimes no. Read more examples and texts and you will get used to it.