how

CEFRA1

/haʊ/

adverb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adverb

    In what way or by what method.

  2. 02

    adverb

    Extra detail

    In what manner

Examples

  • How many close friends do you have?

  • I do not know how to solve this difficult math problem.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • [həu̯]
  • /huː/

Deep Dive

adverb

Extra meanings

  1. To what degree or extent.

  2. By what means.

  3. With overtones of why, for what reason.

More examples

In context

  • How long did you stay?

  • How soon can I see the doctor?

  • The gauge indicated how hot the oven was.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She could not figure out blank to solve the difficult puzzle without instructions.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adverb

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 (...