how
Part of speech: adv
conj
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷís
Proto-Germanic *hwō
Old English hū
Middle English how
English how
From Middle English how, hou, hu, hwu, from Old English hū, from Proto-West Germanic *hwō, from Proto-Germanic *hwō (“through what, how”), from the same root as hwæt (“who, what”). /hw/ > /h/ due to wh-cluster reduction in Old English; compare who, which underwent this change later, and thus is spelt wh (Middle English spelling of /hw/) but pronounced /h/ (it previously had a different vowel, hence avoided the spelling and sound change in Old English). Vowel change per Great Vowel Shift.
Akin to Scots hoo, foo (“how”), North Frisian ho, hü, hur (“how”), Saterland Frisian wo (“how”), West Frisian hoe (“how”), Dutch hoe (“how”), Low German ho, wo, wu (“how”), German wie (“how”), Swedish hur (“how”). See who and compare why.
Inflected forms:
form: 'ow
pos: adv
tags: alternative
form: hoo
pos: adv
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: 'ow
pos: conj
tags: alternative
form: hoo
pos: conj
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: hows
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: how's
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: 'ow
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: hoo
pos: noun
tags: alternative
Northumbria
Senses:
gloss: To what degree or extent.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How often do you practice?
The gauge indicated how hot the oven was.
How soon can I see the doctor?
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
How damaged is her self-esteem?
gloss: In what manner
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.[…]But as a foundation for analysis it is highly subjective: it rests on difficult decisions about what counts as a territory, what counts as output and how to value it. Indeed, economists are still tweaking it.
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How do you solve this puzzle? –Sorry, I can't remember how.
How else can we get this finished?
She showed him how to do it.
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How should I know whether he likes raisins or not? Ask him!
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How are you fixed for money?
How did you vote in the last election?
How do you like it here?
How do you sell your brandy? We sell it by the gallon, and not by the bottle.
How does God appear in these religions? Hinduism has a thousand faces for God, some likable, some horrible. You can pick and choose your preferred image. Buddhism does not even have an image of God, but concentrates on man.
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How the stock market interprets events has real consequences.
A heap of stamps? Yes. Stamps they were indeed, hundreds of penny Queen's Heads neatly mounted on the original sheets. "Good God!" exclaimed Mr. Erskine as he turned to Mr. Sackville, "how am I to take this, sir?" said he severely. "Where are the real stamps? Were they ever inside, ever in your possession at all? If it is a joke, it is a very poor one."
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: "How art thou called? Thy name make known; Thy father's name and family,—tell me thy father's and thine own."
Salutation—How does one address the recipient; what titles, greetings, and honorifics are preferred; how does one manage the problem of unknown gender;[…]
gloss: In what manner:
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Shal. How a score of ewes now?
Sil. Thereafter as they be: a score of good ewes may be worth ten pounds.
gloss: In what state or condition.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: How are you?
How was your vacation?
How's the new apartment? — The new apartment is great!
gloss: In the manner in which.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: I said it exactly how he said it.
gloss: In any manner in which; in whatever way; however.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: People should be free to live how they want.
gloss: In which.
pos: adv
tags: nonstandard
not-comparable
relative
examples: The way how you walk is funny.
gloss: Used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings in an exclamation.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: How very interesting!
How wonderful it was to receive your invitation.
Those were such happy times and not so long ago / How I wondered where they'd gone
How England had to fight for victory against this steely Denmark with an inspired keeper in Kasper Schmeichel, especially after conceding their first goal of the tournament to Mikkel Damsgaard's stunning free-kick after 30 minutes.
gloss: That, the fact that.
pos: conj
tags: informal
examples: She told me how her father was a doctor.
“There’s this real Al Capone fear that they’re going to get our guys, not on marijuana, but on something else,” Mr. Edson said, referring to how Capone was eventually charged with tax evasion rather than criminal activity.
gloss: The means by which something is accomplished.
pos: noun
examples: I am not interested in the why, but in the how.
It is an a posteriori argument, evincing the fact, but not the how.
A wham-bam caper flick, efficiently directed by Roger Donaldson, that fancifully revisits the mysterious whos and speculative hows of a 1971 London bank heist.
Derived words: and how
anyhow
any old how
ask how high when someone says jump
a straw shows how the wind blows
boo how doy
die how one lived
die just how one lived
don't teach your grandmother how to milk ducks
don't try to teach grandma how to suck eggs
everyhow
forhow
get it how one gets it
get it how one lives
get it how one lives it
how about
how about no
how about that
how about them apples
how are things
how are you
how are you diddling
how are you doing
how are you getting along
how are you going
how are you keeping
how bist
how came you so
how can you sleep at night
howcatchem
how come
how dare you
how did it go
how do
how do I get to
how do I get to the airport
how do I get to the bus station
how do I get to the train station
how do ye do
how do you do
how do you like
how do you like that
how do you like them apples
how do you mean
how do you pronounce this word
how do you say … in English
how do you sleep at night
how do you spell this word
how-d'ye-do
how embarrassment
how far
how farest thou
how goes it
how goes the battle
how goes the enemy
how goes the war
how long
how long is a piece of string
how many
how many languages do you speak
how many siblings do you have
how manyth
how much
how much does it cost
how much do I owe you
how much do you charge
how much is it
howness
how no
how now
how old are you
how say you
how see
how should I know
howso
how so
howsofar
how's your father
how the cow ate the cabbage
how the mighty have fallen
how the other half lives
how the sausage gets made
how the sausage is made
how the turntables
how the wind is blowing
how-to
how to
how-to-vote card
how very dare you
how would I know
how you say
it is how it is
it's not what you say but how you say it
know-how
know how many beans make five
know how to pick 'em
know how to walk before one can run
mind how you go
nohow
no matter how one slices it
how the land lies
silly-how
snow-how
somehow
teach grandma how to suck eggs
that's how the cookie crumbles
Translations:
lang: Afrikaans
word: hoe
lang: Dupaningan Agta
word: panyan
lang: Albanian
word: si
lang: Southern Altai
word: кандый
roman: kandïy
lang: Antillean Creole
word: kijan
lang: Antillean Creole
word: kimannyè
lang: Antillean Creole
word: okonsa
lang: Antillean Creole
word: ankijan
lang: Arabic
word: كَيْف
roman: kayf
lang: Arabic
word: ازاي
roman: ezzāy
lang: Arabic
word: كيف
roman: kēf
lang: Iraqi Arabic
word: شلون
roman: šlōn
lang: Arabic
word: كيفاش
roman: kifāš
lang: Arabic
word: كيف
roman: kīf
lang: Arabic
word: كيف
roman: kīf
lang: Arabic
word: شلون
roman: šlōn
lang: Arabic
word: كيف
roman: kīf
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܕܵܐܟ݂ܝܼ
roman: daḳī
lang: Armenian
word: ինչպես
roman: inčʻpes
lang: Aromanian
word: cum
lang: Assamese
word: কেনেকৈ
roman: kenekoi
lang: Asturian
word: cómo
lang: Azerbaijani
word: necə
lang: Belarusian
word: як
roman: jak
lang: Bengali
word: কিভাবে
roman: kibhabe
lang: Bengali
word: কীভাবে
roman: kibhabe
lang: Central Bikol
word: pano
lang: Bulgarian
word: ко́лко
roman: kólko
lang: Bulgarian
word: как
roman: kak
lang: Burmese
word: ဘယ်
roman: bhai
lang: Burmese
word: ဘယ်လို
roman: bhailui
lang: Catalan
word: com
lang: Cheyenne
word: tónėše-
lang: Chichewa
word: bwanji
lang: Chickasaw
word: kaniht
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 怎麼樣 /怎么样
roman: zam² mo¹ joeng⁶
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 怎麼 /怎么
roman: zam² mo¹
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 怎樣 /怎样
roman: zam² joeng⁶
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 點樣 /点样
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 點 /点
roman: dim²
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 如何
roman: jyu⁴ ho⁴
lang: Chinese
word: за
roman: za
lang: Chinese
word: заму
roman: zamu
lang: Eastern Min Chinese
word: 將樣 /将样
roman: ciŏng-iông
lang: Hakka Chinese
word: 仰般
roman: ngióng-pân
lang: Hakka Chinese
word: 如何
roman: yì-hò
lang: Chinese
word: 怎樣 /怎样
roman: chóaⁿ-iūⁿ, cháiⁿ-iūⁿ
lang: Chinese
word: 怎仔樣 /怎仔样
roman: chóaⁿ-á-iūⁿ, cháiⁿ-á-iūⁿ
lang: Chinese
word: 按怎
roman: án-chóaⁿ, án-cháiⁿ, án-nóa, án-ná
lang: Chinese
word: 按怎樣 /按怎样
roman: án-chóaⁿ-iūⁿ, àn-chóaⁿ-iūⁿ
lang: Chinese
word: 如何
roman: jû-hô, lû-hô, jî-hô
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 怎麼樣 /怎么样
roman: zěnmeyàng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 怎麼 /怎么
roman: zěnme
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 怎樣 /怎样
roman: zěnyàng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 如何
roman: rúhé
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 咋
roman: zǎ
lang: Wu Chinese
word: 哪能
roman: na nen
lang: West Circassian
word: сыдэу
roman: sədɛwu
lang: Maore Comorian
word: jeje
lang: Ngazidja Comorian
word: hali dje
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: nasıl
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: neday
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: qadiy
lang: Czech
word: jak
lang: Danish
word: hvordan
lang: Danish
word: hvorledes
lang: Dutch
word: hoe
lang: Egyptian
word: ḥr zj jšst
lang: Esperanto
word: kiel
lang: Estonian
word: kuidas
lang: Finnish
word: miten
lang: Finnish
word: kuinka
lang: Finnish
word: millä tavalla
lang: Finnish
word: millä tavoin
lang: French
word: comment
lang: Friulian
word: cemût
lang: Galician
word: como
lang: Georgian
word: როგორ
roman: rogor
lang: German
word: wie
lang: Swabian
word: wia
lang: Gothic
word: 𐌱𐌹𐍈𐌴
roman: biƕē
lang: Greek
word: πώς
roman: pós
lang: Ancient Greek
word: πῶς
roman: pôs
lang: Haitian Creole
word: kòman
lang: Hanunoo
word: abitay
lang: Hanunoo
word: kabitay
lang: Hebrew
word: אֵיך
roman: ekh
lang: Hebrew
word: כֵּיצַד
roman: keytsád
lang: Hindi
word: कैसे
roman: kaise
lang: Hindi
word: कैसा
roman: kaisā
lang: White Hmong
word: li cas
lang: Hungarian
word: hogyan
lang: Hungarian
word: hogy
lang: Hunsrik
word: wie
lang: Icelandic
word: hvernig
lang: Ido
word: quale
lang: Indonesian
word: bagaimana
lang: Interlingua
word: como
lang: Iquito
word: jaátaaraa
lang: Irish
word: conas
lang: Irish
word: cén chaoi
lang: Irish
word: cad é mar
lang: Old Irish
word: co
lang: Old Irish
word: cía chruth
lang: Old Irish
word: cía indas
lang: Old Irish
word: cindas
lang: Isan
word: จั่งได๋
roman: jàng-dǎi
lang: Istriot
word: cume
lang: Italian
word: come
lang: Japanese
word: どのように
roman: dono yō ni
lang: Japanese
word: どうやって
roman: dōyatte
lang: Japanese
word: どう
roman: dō
lang: Jeju
word: 어떵
roman: eotteong
lang: Kapampangan
word: makananu
lang: Kapampangan
word: katnamu
lang: Kazakh
word: қалайша
roman: qalaişa
lang: Kazakh
word: қалай
roman: qalai
lang: Khmer
word: របៀបណា
roman: rɔbiəp naa
lang: Korean
word: 어떻게
roman: eotteoke
lang: Korean
word: 어찌
roman: eojji
lang: Central Kurdish
word: چۆن
roman: çon
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: çawa
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: çawan
lang: Kyrgyz
word: кандайча
roman: kandayca
lang: Kyrgyz
word: кандай
roman: kanday
lang: Lao
word: ແນວໃດ
roman: nǣu dai
lang: Latin
word: qualiter
lang: Latin
word: quōmodo
lang: Latin
word: quō modo
lang: Latin
word: quārē
lang: Latin
word: quemadmodum
lang: Latin
word: quī
lang: Lithuanian
word: kaip
lang: Low German
word: wiu
lang: Luhya
word: orie
lang: Luxembourgish
word: wéi
lang: Macedonian
word: како
roman: kako
lang: Malay
word: bagaimana
lang: Malay
word: macam mana
lang: Malayalam
word: എങ്ങനെ
roman: eṅṅane
lang: Maltese
word: kif
lang: Manchu
word: ᠠᡩᠠᡵᠠᠮᡝ
roman: adarame
lang: Māori
word: pēhea
lang: Eastern Mari
word: кузе
roman: kuze
lang: Mauritian Creole
word: kouma
lang: Mòcheno
word: bia
lang: Mongolian
word: яаж
roman: jaaž
lang: Nahuatl
word: quen
lang: Nahuatl
word: quenin
lang: Neapolitan
word: cómme
lang: Nepali
word: कसरी
roman: kasarī
lang: Ngarrindjeri
word: mengye
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvordan
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvorledes
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: åssen
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: korleis
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: korso
lang: Occitan
word: cossí
lang: Church Slavic
word: како
roman: kako
lang: Old English
word: hū
lang: Persian
word: چگونه
roman: čegune
lang: Persian
word: چطور
roman: četowr
lang: Persian
word: چجور
roman: čejur
lang: Polish
word: jak
lang: Portuguese
word: como
lang: Rapa Nui
word: pehea
lang: Romanian
word: cum
lang: Romansh
word: co
lang: Romansh
word: cu
lang: Russian
word: как
roman: kak
lang: Russian
word: каки́м о́бразом
roman: kakím óbrazom
lang: Sardinian
word: comente
lang: Sardinian
word: acomenti
lang: Sardinian
word: comenti
lang: Sardinian
word: cumenti
lang: Sardinian
word: cumeti
lang: Scots
word: hou
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: како
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: kako
lang: Sicilian
word: comu
lang: Slovak
word: jak
lang: Slovene
word: kakó
lang: Lower Sorbian
word: kak
lang: Spanish
word: cómo
lang: Sundanese
word: kumaha
lang: Swahili
word: namna
lang: Swahili
word: jinsi
lang: Swahili
word: -je
lang: Swedish
word: hur
lang: Tagalog
word: paano
lang: Tajik
word: чӣ тавр
roman: či tavr
lang: Tajik
word: чӣ гуна
roman: či guna
lang: Tamil
word: எப்படி
roman: eppaṭi
lang: Tatar
word: ничек
roman: niçek
lang: Telugu
word: ఏవిధముగా
roman: ēvidhamugā
lang: Thai
word: ยังไง
roman: yang-ngai
lang: Thai
word: อย่างไร
roman: yàang-rai
lang: Tibetan
word: ཇི་ལྟར
roman: ji ltar
lang: Tibetan
word: ག་འདྲས་ཟེ
roman: ga 'dras ze
lang: Tocharian B
word: mäkte
lang: Tooro
word: -ta
lang: Turkish
word: nasıl
lang: Turkmen
word: nähili
lang: Turkmen
word: neneň
lang: Ukrainian
word: як
roman: jak
lang: Ukrainian
word: як са́ме
roman: jak sáme
lang: Urdu
word: کیسے
roman: kaisa
lang: Uyghur
word: قانداق
roman: qandaq
lang: Uzbek
word: qanday
lang: Uzbek
word: necha
lang: Venetan
word: come
lang: Vietnamese
word: như thế nào
lang: Vietnamese
word: làm sao
lang: Vietnamese
word: sao
lang: Volapük
word: lio
lang: Walloon
word: kimint
lang: Walloon
word: comint
lang: Welsh
word: sut
lang: Welsh
word: fel
lang: Welsh
word: ffordd
lang: Wolof
word: nan
lang: Yakut
word: хайдах
roman: qaydaq
lang: Yiddish
word: ווי
roman: vi
lang: Yoruba
word: báwo
lang: Yucatec Maya
word: bix
lang: Zazaki
word: seni
lang: Zealandic
word: 'oe
lang: Zhuang
word: baeq
lang: Zhuang
word: baenzyiengh
lang: Zhuang
word: daengjlawz
lang: Zhuang
word: hauhlawz
lang: Zulu
word: kanjani