how about - definition of how about by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

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.

3. In whatever way or manner; however: Cook it how you please.

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

What is your thought, feeling, or desire regarding: How about a cup of tea? 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 h; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots.]

how¹

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?

how about? used to suggest something how about asking her? how about a cup of tea?

how are you? what is your state of health?

how come? Informal what is the reason (that)? how come you told him?

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?

how's that?

a. what is your opinion?

b. (Team Sports / Cricket) Cricket Also written howzat [haʊˈzæt] (an appeal to the umpire) is the batsman out?

how now? or how so? Archaic what is the meaning of this?

10. Also as how Not standard that he told me as how the shop was closed

11. in whatever way do it how you wish

12. used in exclamations to emphasize extent how happy I was!

and how! (intensifier) very much so!

here's how! (as a toast) good health!

the way a thing is done the how of it

[Old English hu; related to Old Frisian hū, Old High German hweo]

how²

sentence substitute

a greeting supposed to be or have been used by American Indians and often used humorously

[of Siouan origin; related to Dakota háo]

Translations

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?

how¹

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

how²

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 [haʊ] adv

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

adv / conj how [hau]

1 in what way How do you make bread? hoe كَيْفَ؟ как jak hvordan wie πώς cómo kuidas چگونه miten comment אֵיך कैसे, किस ढंग से kako, na koji nacin hogy(an) bagaimana hvernig, á hvaða hátt come どのようにして 어떻게 kaip kā; kādā veidā bagaimana hoe, op welke manier hvordan, hvorledes jak como cum каким образом ako kako kako hur เท่าไร nasıl, ne şekilde 如何 як? کیسے như thế nào 怎样

2 to what extent How do you like my new hat?; How far is Paris from London? hoe إلى أي مدى؟ как jak hvordan; hvor langt; hvor meget wie πόσο, σε ποιο βαθμό cuánto; cómo de kuidas, kui چطور،چقدر miten comment; à quelle distance אֵיך किस दिशा में koliko mennyire, milyen bagaimana hversu, hve, hvað come, quanto どのくらい 어느 정도 kaip Kā jums patīk ...? berapa hoe hvordan jak quanto cum; cât как ako kako koliko vad, hur เท่าไร ne kadar/ölçüde/derecede 多少程度 як? کتنا tới mức độ nào 多少

3 by what means I've no idea how he came here. hoe كيْفَ، بأي طريقَه как jak hvordan wie πώς, με ποιο μέσο cómo kuidas از چه راه miten comment כֵּיצָד किसी साधन से kako, cime mi módon bagaimana hvernig come どんな手段で 어떤 방법으로 kaip kādā veidā bagaimana cara hoe, op welke manier hvordan jak, w jaki sposób como cum как ako kako na koji način hur อย่างไร nasıl 怎麼 як, яким способом کسے طریقے سے bằng phương tiện gì 怎么

4 in what condition How are you today?; How do I look? hoe كيْفَ؟ في أي حال؟ как jak hvordan wie πόσο καλά, σε τι κατάσταση cómo kuidas چطور miten comment אֵיך किसी स्थिति में kako (u kojem stanju) hogy(an) bagaimana hvernig come どんな状態で 어떤 상태로 kaip bagaimana keadaan hoe hvordan jak como cum как ako kako kako hur อย่างไร nasıl, ne durumda 何種狀態 як? کس حال میں tình trạng sức khoẻ; hoàn cảnh thế nào 怎样

5 for what reason How is it that I am the last to know about this? hoe كيْفَ؟ لماذا؟ لأي سبب؟ защо jak hvorfor wie πώς και, για ποιο λόγο cómo mispärast به چه علت miksi comment לָמָה किस कारण hogy lehet az, hogy mengapa hvers vegna come どういうわけで 어떤 이유로 kaip kā tad tā? Kenapa waarom hvordan dlaczego como de ce каким образом ako kako kako to hur [] อย่างไร niye, niçin, neden 為何 чого? کس وجہ سے vì lí do gì 怎么

adv howˈever

1 in spite of that It would be nice if we had more money. However, I suppose we'll manage with what we have. hoe dit ook al sy مَع ذلك، ولكن، بالرَّغْم مِن ذلك обаче nicméně alligevel; på trods heraf wie auch immer ωστόσο, εντούτοις sin embargo, no obstante ometi اگرچه kuitenkin cependant אוּלָם फिर भी medutim azonban, mindamellett, mégis walaupun demikian samt (sem áður) tuttavia, comunque しかし 그럼에도 불구하고 vienok, tačiau tomēr; taču walau bagaimana pun desondanks likevel, imidlertid, men jednakże contudo totuşi несмотря на это avšak vendar pa ipak emellertid, fast ไม่ว่าจะอย่างไร buna rağmen 可是 проте, однак تاہم tuy vậy; song 可是

2 (alsohow ever) in what way; by what means However did you get here?; However did you do that? hoe كيف؟ في أي طريقَه؟ بأي وسيلَه؟ как jak vůbec hvordan wie πώς, με ποιο τρόπο cómo kuidas küll چطور miten ihmeessä comment, de quelle manière אֵיך किस तरह से kako, cime hogy(an) dengan cara apa hvernig í ósköpunum come 一体どうやって (도대체) 어떻게 kaip, kokiu būdu kā gan macam mana hoe, op welke manier hvordan (i all verden) w jaki sposób de que modo cum, în ce fel каким образом ako len kako neki na koji način โดยวิธีใดก็ตาม nasıl 究竟如何 як? آخر کس طرح bằng cách nào; bằng biện pháp nào 究竟怎样

3 to no matter what extent However hard I try, I still can't do it. hoe ook al مَهْما يَكُن както и да jakkoli hvor meget end; uanset hvor wie auch όσο por más que kui tahes هرقدرهم kuinka tahansa de quelque manière que; avoir beau כָּמָה שֶלא किसी भी तरह koliko god bármennyire, bármilyen bagaimanapun sama hvernig (per quanto) どれほど～しても 아무리 일지라도 kad ir kaip lai cik; vienalga kā walau betapa hoe dan ook hvor(dan) ... enn jakkolwiek, obojętnie jak por mais que oricât как бы ни akokoľvek kakorkoli koliko god hur ... än ไม่ว่าจะ...ขนาดไหน ne kadar 不管如何 як би не جس قدر بھی dù như thế nào 不管如何

conj

in no matter what way This painting still looks wrong however you look at it. hoe ook al كَيفَما както и да ať ... jakkoli hvordan end wie auch immer όπως κι αν de todas formas, lo (mires) como lo (mires) kuidas tahes درهرحالت miten tahansa de quelque façon que אֵיך שֶלא किसी भी तरह kako god akárhogyan dengan cara apa pun hvernig sem in qualsiasi modo どんなふうに～しても 그러나 kad ir kaip lai arī kā macam mana sekalipun hoe dan ook samme hvordan w jakikolwiek sposób, bez względu na to jak de qualquer maneira que oricum, în orice fel как угодно akokoľvek kakorkoli kako god hur... än อย่างไรก็ตาม ne olursa olsun, ne kadar... olsa da/bile 無論如何 як ни جس طرح سے بھی bất kể như thế nào 不管用什么方法

how about

1 I would like to suggest Where shall we go tonight?' `How about the cinema?' wat van ما رأيَك: للتعبير عن إقْتراح ؟ предлагам co třeba hvad med wie steht's mit τι θα έλεγες για...; qué tal, qué te parece mis sa arvad چطور mitäs sanoisit et si, que diriez-vous de מָה דַעֲתך עַל-? सुझाना što kažeš? mit szólnál ...-hoz? bagaimana kalau hvað segir þú um (che ne diresti di) ～はどうですか gal ...? kā būtu macam mana dengan valt er iets te zeggen voor? hva med...? a może by tak... que tal ce ai/aţi zice de как насчёт... čo tak kaj pa... šta misliš o vad sägs om ใช้ในการเสนอแนะ ne dersin 怎麼樣 як щодо? کیسا رہیگا dùng để gợi ý 怎么样

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? wat van jou ماذا بِشأنك؟ какво ще правиш a co hvad med wie steht's mit τι θα γίνει με..; ποια γνώμη έχει...; ¿y tú/él/vosotros/ellos? aga چطور entä et vous מַה בְּקֶשֶר אֶל- क्या करने जा रहे हो što (misliš, što ceš raditi) mi a véleményed...? bagaimana pendapat hvað með þig (e tu) ～はどうですか ...은 어떻습니까? o kā [] ar tevi? macam mana En wat betreft? a (ty, on itd.) e você? şi tu/voi а вы (вам) ...? a čo Kaj pa vi? šta je sa tobom ใช้ในการถามถึงอีกสิ่งหนึ่ง sen ne dersin? 那(某人)打算做什麼？ як (ви)? آپ کا کیا خیال ہے؟ dùng để hỏi ý kiến 认为怎么样

how come

for what reason How come I didn't get any cake? hoekom كَيف حَدَثَ أن защо proč hvorfor; hvordan wie kommt es γιατί, πώς και...; mis põhjusel چطور miksi comment se fait-il que אֵיך יָכוֹל לִהיוֹת ऐसा क्यों है kako to, zašto hogyan lehet az, hogy... mengapa hvernig stendur á að (come mai) なぜ 어찌하여, 왜 kaip čia atsitiko, kad kā tad tā kenapa hoe komt het dlaczego por que razão cum se face că это почему же ako to, že kako to kako to varför, hur kommer det sig เหตุใด neden, niçin 怎麼會 чого це? کیونکر vì sao 怎么会...的

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. aangename kennis, bly te kenne كَيفَ الحال؟ как си těší mě hvordan har du det? Guten Tag, wie geht´s? χαίρω πολύ mucho gusto, encantado tere حال شما چطور است hyvää päivää enchanté מָה שְׁלוֹמך? कैसे हो drago mi je! jó napot kívánok! apa kabar góðan daginn, sæll og blessaður piacere! はじめまして 안녕하세요(초대면의 인사) malonu matyti/susipažinti sveicināti! kā klājas? apa khabar hoe gaat het met U? god dag, det gleder meg miło mi como está? încântat здравствуйте!, как поживаете? teší ma me veseli kako ste goddag!, hur står det till? คำทักทายอย่างเป็นทางการในการแนะนำตัวครั้งแรก tanıştığımıza memnun oldum 你好 здрастуйте! آپ کیسے ہیں؟ lời chào chính thức khi gặp ai lần đầu tiên 你好

how → كيف jak hvordan wie πώς cómo miten comment kako come どのように 어떻게 hoe hvordan jak como как hur อย่างไร nasıl bằng cách nào 如何

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