how


Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia.

how

 (hou)
adv.
1. In what manner or way; by what means: How does this machine work?
2. In what state or condition: How is she today?
3. To what extent, amount, or degree: How bad was it?
4. For what reason or purpose; why: How is it that he left early?
5. With what meaning: How should I take that remark?
6. By what name: How is she called?
7. By what measure; in what units: How do you sell this corn?
8. What. Usually used in requesting that something be said again: How's that again?
9. Used as an intensive: How we laughed!
conj.
1. The manner or way in which: forgot how it was done.
2. That: I told them how I had once been bitten by a snake.
3. In whatever way or manner; however: Cook it how you please.
n.
A manner or method of doing something: "The how of research is generated by the why of the world" (Frederick Turner).
Idioms:
and how Informal
Most certainly; you bet: She's a good dancer, and how!
how about
1. Used to make a suggestion or to offer something: How about a cup of tea?
2. Used to request an opinion about something considered remarkable or impressive: How about that storm last night?
how about that Informal
Used rhetorically to express surprise or wonder at or approval for something.
how come Informal
How is it that; why: How come you're so late?
how so
How is it so: You say the answer is wrong. How so?
[Middle English howe, from Old English hū; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]

how

(haʊ)
adv
1. in what way? in what manner? by what means?: how did it happen? Also used in indirect questions: tell me how he did it
2. to what extent?: how tall is he?.
3. how good? how well? what…like?: how did she sing?; how was the holiday?.
4. how about? used to suggest something: how about asking her?; how about a cup of tea?.
5. how are you? what is your state of health?
6. how come? informal what is the reason (that)?: how come you told him?.
7. how's that for…?
a. is this satisfactory as regards…?: how's that for size?.
b. an exclamation used to draw attention to a quality, deed, etc: how is that for endurance?.
8. what is your opinion?
9. (Cricket) cricket (an appeal to the umpire) is the batsman out?. Also written: howzat
10. how now? how so? archaic what is the meaning of this?
11. not standard Also: as how that: he told me as how the shop was closed.
12. in whatever way: do it how you wish.
13. used in exclamations to emphasize extent: how happy I was!.
14. and how! (intensifier) very much so!
15. here's how! (as a toast) good health!
n
the way a thing is done: the how of it.
[Old English hu; related to Old Frisian hū, Old High German hweo]

how

(haʊ)
sentence substitute
a greeting supposed to be or have been used by American Indians and often used humorously
[C19: of Siouan origin; related to Dakota háo]

how

(haʊ)

adv.
1. in what way or manner; by what means?: How did the fire start?
2. to what extent, degree, etc.?: How difficult was the test?
3. in what state or condition?: How is the baby?
4. for what reason; why?: How can you talk such nonsense?
5. to what effect; with what meaning?: How is one to interpret such actions?
6. at what amount or rate or in what measure or quantity?: How much is this? How are these tomatoes sold?
7. what?: How do you mean?
8. (used as an intensifier): How seldom I go there!
9. by what title or name?: How does one address the president?
10. in what form or shape?: How does the demon appear in the first act?
conj.
11. the manner or way in which: I couldn't figure out how to solve the problem.
12. about the manner or condition in which: Be careful how you act.
13. in whatever manner or way; however: You can dress how you please.
14. Informal. that: She told us how he was honest and could be trusted.
n.
15. a question concerning the way or manner in which something is done, achieved, etc.: a child's unending whys and hows.
16. a way or manner of doing something: to consider all the hows and wherefores.
Idioms:
1. and how! Informal. certainly; you bet: Am I happy? And how!
2. here's how, (used as a toast.)
3. how about, what do you think or feel regarding? what is your response to?: If they don't have pumpkin pie, how about apple?
4. how come? Informal. how is it that? why?: How come you never visit us anymore?
5. how so? how does it happen to be so? why?: You left early? How so?
[before 900; Middle English how, hu, Old English hū, c. Old Frisian hū, ho, Old Saxon (h)wō; akin to Old High German hweo, Gothic hwaiwa]

how

1. ways of doing things

You use how in questions and explanations when you are talking about the way something is done.

How do you spell his name?
Tell me how to get there.
This is how I make a vegetable curry.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'how' to mean 'in the way that'. For example, don't say 'He walks to work every day, how his father did'. Instead you use like, as, or the way.

2. asking about someone's health

You use how with be to ask about someone's health.

How are you?
How is she? All right?

Be Careful!
Don't use 'how' to ask what kind of person someone is. For example, if you are asking someone for a description of their boss, don't say 'How is your boss?' Say 'What is your boss like?'

What's his mother like?
3. asking about impressions

You use how with be to ask whether someone likes or enjoys something or not.

How was your trip?
How was the smoked trout?

Be Careful!
Don't use 'how' to ask for a description of a thing or place. For example, if you say 'How is Birmingham?', you are not asking someone what kind of place Birmingham is; you are asking them if they are enjoying living or working there. If you want them to give you a description of Birmingham, you say 'What is Birmingham like?'

What is Fiji like?

Be Careful!
Don't say 'How do you think of Birmingham?' Say 'What do you think of Birmingham?'

What do you think of his writing style?
What did you think of Tokyo?
4. commenting on a quality

People often use how with an adjective when they are commenting on what someone has just said.

'She has a house there as well.' – 'How nice!'
'To my surprise, I found her waiting for me at the station.' – 'How kind!'
Translations
إلى أي مدى؟كَمْكيفكَيْفَكيْفَ، بأي طريقَه
jakkolik
hvordanhvorhvor langthvor megethvorfor
kielkiom
kuinkamitenmillainenminkälainen
kakokoliko
mennyiremi módonmilyen
enhvernighvernig, á hvaîa hátthvers vegnahversu, hve, hvaî
どのようにどんなに争でどうやってどのくらい
어떻게얼마나
gal ...?kokiu būdumalonu matytimalonu susipažintio
cikkāKā jums patīk ...?kā tad tā?kādā veidā
cecum
kakokoliko
hurså
เท่าใดอย่างไร
nasılne durumdane kadar/ölçüde/derecedene şekildeneden
bằng cách nàobao nhiêu

how

[haʊ]
A. ADVERB
1. (in direct and indirect questions, reported speech)
1.1. WITH VERB
You can usually use cómo to translate how in questions as well as after report verbs and verbs of (un)certainty and doubt (e.g. no sé):
→ cómo
how did you do it? → ¿cómo lo hiciste?
how can that be? → ¿cómo puede ser eso?
how are you? → ¿cómo estás?, ¿cómo or qué tal te va? (LAm) , ¿qué tal (estás)? (Sp)
how was the film? → ¿qué tal la película?
please tell me how to do it → por favor, dígame cómo hacerlo
I wasn't sure how to make soup → no sabía muy bien cómo hacer or preparar una sopa
I explained to her how to make a paella → le expliqué cómo se hacía una paella
I know how you did it → ya sé cómo lo hiciste
to know how to do sth → saber hacer algo
to learn how to do sth → aprender a hacer algo, aprender cómo se hace algo
how do you like your steak? → ¿cómo le gusta el filete?
how do you like the book? → ¿qué te parece el libro?
how's that for cheek? → ¿no te parece de una cara dura increíble?
I can't understand how it happened → no entiendo cómo ocurrió
1.2. (= to what degree)
how + ADJECTIVE in questions can often be translated using cómo es/era de + ADJECTIVE (agreeing with the noun), but other constructions might be more usual depending on the context:
how big is it? → ¿cómo es de grande?
how difficult was the exam? → ¿cómo fue de difícil el examen?
BUT how old are you? → ¿cuántos años tienes?
how wide is this bed? → ¿qué anchura tiene esta cama?, ¿cuánto mide de ancho esta cama?
with adverbs various translations are possible depending on the context. A very common construction is PREPOSITION + qué + NOUN:
how far away is it? → ¿a qué distancia queda?, ¿qué tan lejos queda? (LAm)
how far is it (from here) to Edinburgh? → ¿qué distancia hay de aquí a Edimburgo?
how fast can it go? → ¿a qué velocidad puede ir?
BUT how soon can you be ready? → ¿cuánto tardas en prepararte?
how soon can you come? → ¿cuándo puedes venir?
To translate how + ADJECTIVE/ADVERB in reported speech, lo + ADJECTIVE/ADVERB is used. Note that the adjective agrees with the noun.
you don't know how difficult it is → no sabes lo difícil que es
I didn't know how expensive the tickets were → no sabía lo caras que eran las entradas
they've been telling me how well you did in your exams → ya me han hablado de lo bien que hiciste los exámenes
and how! → ¡y cómo!, ¡y tanto!
how about how about tomorrow? → ¿qué te parece mañana?
how about a cup of tea? → ¿te apetece una taza de té?
I like it, but how about you? → a mí me gusta, pero ¿y a ti?
how about going to the cinema? → ¿qué tal si vamos al cine?, ¿y si vamos al cine?
how long how long is this bed? → ¿qué longitud tiene esta cama?, ¿cuánto mide de largo esta cama?
how long will you be? → ¿cuánto vas a tardar?
how long have you been here? → ¿cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?
how many how many are there? → ¿cuántos hay?
how many cartons of milk did you buy? → ¿cuántos cartones de leche has comprado?
how much how much sugar do you want? → ¿cuánto azúcar quieres?
how much is it? → ¿cuánto vale?, ¿cuánto es?
how often how often do you go? → ¿con qué frecuencia vas?
see also else 2
2. (in other statements)
Translate how with verbs other than report ones or verbs of (un)certainty and doubt using como without an accent:
→ como
this is how you do it → así es como se hace
that was how I came to meet him → así es como lo conocí
I'll do it how I like → lo haré como me parezca
3. (in exclamations)
You can often translate how + ADJECTIVE/ADVERB using qué + ADJECTIVE/ADVERB:
→ qué
how beautiful! → ¡qué bonito!
how strange! → ¡qué raro!
how quickly the time passed! → ¡qué de prisa pasó el tiempo!
BUT how glad I am to see you! → ¡cuánto me alegro de verte!
how they talk! → ¡cuánto hablan!
how sorry I am! → ¡cuánto lo siento!
how she's changed! → ¡cuánto ha cambiado!
how kind of you! → es usted muy amable
B. CONJUNCTION (= that) → que
she told me how she'd seen him last night → me dijo que lo había visto anoche
C. NOUN I want to know the how and the why of all this → quiero saber el cómo y el porqué de todo esto

how

[ˈhaʊ] adv
(= in what way) → comment
I don't know how to do it → Je ne sais pas comment faire.
How do you say "apple" in French? → Comment dit-on "apple" en français?
(in questions about number, quantity, size, distance) how many? → Combien?
how many ... ? → Combien de ... ?
How many pupils are there in the class? → Combien d'élèves y a-t-il dans la classe?
how much? → Combien?
how much ... ? → Combien de ... ?
How much sugar do you want? → Combien de sucres voulez-vous?
how far is it to ... ? → combien y a-t-il de kilomètres jusqu'à ... ?
How far is it to Edinburgh? → Combien y a-t-il de kilomètres d'ici à Édimbourg?
how long? → depuis combien de temps?
How long have you been here? → Depuis combien de temps êtes-vous là?
(in greetings) how are you? → comment allez-vous?
how do you do? (on being introduced) → enchanté(e)
how`s life? → comment ça va?
(in questions about age) how old are you? → quel âge as-tu?
(followed by adjective) how lovely! → que c'est joli!, comme c'est joli!
(= why) how is it that ... ? → comment se fait-il que ... + subj?
how come? → comment ça se fait?
(in suggestions)
How about a drink? → Si on buvait quelque chose?
How about the end of next week? → Que pensez-vous de la fin de la semaine prochaine?
(= what) how do you mean? (British) → que voulez-vous dire?
how's that? (= is that all right?) → ça va?

how

1
adv
(= in what way) → wie; how will we ever survive? → wie sollen wir nur or bloß überleben?; how so?, how’s that?, how come? (all inf) → wieso (denn das)?, wie kommt (denn) das?; how do you mean? (inf) → wie meinst du das?; how is it that we or how come (inf) we earn less? → wieso or warum verdienen wir denn weniger?; how is it that …? → wie kommt es, dass …?; I see how it is → ich verstehe (schon); how’s that for luck? → ist das nicht ein Glück?; how do you know that? → woher wissen Sie das?; to learn/know how to do something → lernen/wissen, wie man etw macht; I’d like to learn how to swim/drive etc → ich würde gerne schwimmen/Auto fahren etc lernen
(in degree, quantity etc) → wie; how nice! → wie nett!; how much (+n, adj, adv) → wie viel; (+vb) → wie sehr; (+vbs of physical action) → wie viel; how often do you visit them/go out? → wie oft besuchen Sie sie/gehen Sie aus?; how many → wie viel, wie viele; I can’t tell you how glad I was to leave → ich kann Ihnen gar nicht sagen, wie froh ich war, dort wegzukommen; how would you like to …? → hätten Sie Lust, … zu …?
(regarding health, general situation etc) how do you do? (on introduction) → Guten Tag/Abend!, angenehm! (form); how are you? → wie geht es Ihnen?; how’s you? (Brit sl) → wie gehts? (inf); how’s life? → wie gehts?; how’s work/the new job? etc → was macht die Arbeit/die neue Stelle? etc (inf); how are things at school/in the office? etc → wie gehts in der Schule/im Büro? etc; how did the job interview go? → wie ist das Bewerbungsgespräch gelaufen?
how about …? → wie wäre es mit …?; how about it? (about suggestion) → wie wäre es damit?; how about going for a walk? → wie wärs mit einem Spaziergang?; how about we meet for lunch tomorrow? → wie wäre es, wenn wir uns morgen zum Mittagessen treffen?; I’ve had enough, how about you? → mir reichts, wie siehts bei dir aus?
and how! → und ob or wie!; how he’s grown! → er ist aber or vielleicht groß geworden; look how he’s grown! → sieh mal, wie groß er geworden ist
(= that) → dass; she told me how she had seen him there → sie sagte mir, dass sie ihn dort gesehen hat

how

2
interj (American Indian greeting) → hugh

how

[haʊ] adv
a. (gen) → come
how did you do it? → come hai fatto?, come l'hai fatto?
I know how you did it → so come hai fatto
to know how to do sth → sapere come fare qc
how are you? → come stai?, come va?
how's life? (fam) → come va (la vita)?
how is school? → come va la scuola?
how was the film? → com'era il film?
how is it that ...? → com'è che...?
how do you do? → molto lieto!, piacere!
how come? (fam) → come mai?
how come he's leaving? (fam) → come mai se ne va?
how about (going for) a drink? → che ne diresti di (andare a) bere qualcosa?
and how! (fam) → eccome!
b. (to what degree) → quanto/a
how much is it? → quanto costa?
how long have you been here? → da quanto tempo stai qui?
how old are you? → quanti anni hai?
how far is it to ...? → quanto è lontano...?
how many people? → quante persone?
how much milk? → quanto latte?
how often do you go? → quanto spesso ci vai?
how lovely! → che bello!
how kind of you! → è molto gentile da parte sua!
c. (that) → che, di come
she told me how she'd found the money in an old suitcase → mi ha raccontato di come aveva trovato il denaro in una vecchia valigia

how

(hau) adverb, conjunction
1. in what way. How do you make bread?
2. to what extent. How do you like my new hat?; How far is Paris from London?
3. by what means. I've no idea how he came here.
4. in what condition. How are you today?; How do I look?
5. for what reason. How is it that I am the last to know about this?
howˈever adverb
1. in spite of that. It would be nice if we had more money. However, I suppose we'll manage with what we have.
2. (also how ever) in what way; by what means. However did you get here?; However did you do that?
3. to no matter what extent. However hard I try, I still can't do it.
conjunction
in no matter what way. This painting still looks wrong however you look at it.
how about
1. I would like to suggest. `Where shall we go tonight?' `How about the cinema?'
2. what is he, are you etc going to do?; what does he, do you etc think?. We're going to the cinema tonight. How about you?; I rather like that picture. How about you?
how come
for what reason. How come I didn't get any cake?
how do you do?
words that are said by a person to someone he is being introduced to. `How do you do? My name is Smith,' he said, shaking her hand.

how

→ كَمْ, كَيْفَ jak, kolik hvor, hvordan wie, wieviel πόσο, πώς cómo, cuánto kuinka, miten comment, de quelle kako, koliko come, quanto どのくらい, どのように 어떻게, 얼마나 hoe hvor, hvordan ile, jak como, quanto, quanto, quantos как, сколько hur เท่าใด, อย่างไร kaç, nasıl bằng cách nào, bao nhiêu 多少, 如何

how

adv. cómo, cuánto;
___ are you? → ¿Cómo está?, ¿Cómo estás?;
___ late? → ¿Hasta qué hora?;
___ many? → ¿Cuántos-as?;
___ often? → ¿Cuántas veces?, ¿Con qué frecuencia?
Dictionary browser?
Full browser?