Cuánto

Today’s Spanish word of the day is “cuánto”.

It can be used as an adverb, adjective or pronoun usually translating as “how much”. The plural, “cuántos”, translates as “how many”.

It’s often one of the first words you learn in Spanish, since it’s used in phrases such as “¿Cuántos años tienes?” (“How old are you?”) and “¿Cuánto cuesta?” (“How much does it cost?”).

The word derives from Latin quantus, meaning “how much” or “how many”. This is also the origin of the English word “quantity”, and its Spanish equivalent “cantidad”. The word “quantum”, which in physics refers to the minimum amount of a physical entity in an interaction, also comes from Latin quantus.