How do you say "how much" in Spanish? In this lesson, you will learn to say "how much" in Spanish in both questions and statements as well to formulate some more specific "how much" questions and answers that you might be eager to learn!

How Do You Say "How Much" in Spanish? 

The simplest answer to this question is that, while there may be additional ways of saying "how much" in Spanish in particular contexts, the word cuánto is the most common way to say "how much" in Spanish and the one we will focus on today. Let's take a look at this word in action:

Ay, papá, para que se dé cuenta cuánto

Oh, dude, so that you realize how much

vamos a ganar con este negocio;

we are going to earn with this business;

Caption 11, Tu Voz Estéreo - Laura

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While, in the example above, the word cuánto functions as a adverb meaning "how much" in Spanish, the word cuánto can also act as an adjective. In such cases, it will need to agree with the noun it modifies in terms of number and gender. Let's take a look at some examples of the word cuánto in its singular/plural and masculine/feminine forms:

Quiero, quiero, quiero ver cuánto amor a ti te cabe

I want, I want, I want to see how much love fits in you

Caption 40, Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee - Despacito

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Escúchame, ¿cuántos frigoríficos necesitáis?

Listen to me, how many refrigerators do you guys need?

Caption 46, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 2

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Common Expressions with "How Much" in Spanish

Now that you know how to say "how much" in Spanish, let's look at some of the most searched-for English phrases including the words "how much" that many people want to learn how to say in Spanish:

1. "How much money" in Spanish

As one of the most common things one might associate with the words "how much" is money. You might be curious about how to say "how much money" in Spanish, which is simple: Add the singular masculine form of the adjective cuánto to the word for money, dinero, which is masculine and singular as well:

¿Cuánto dinero se puede sacar? Perras.

How much money can one get? Coins [colloquial].

Caption 48, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 5

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2. "How much does it cost?" in Spanish

Now that we're talking about money, the abilty to ask the question, "How much does it cost?" in Spanish might come in extremely handy when traveling to a Spanish-speaking country. So, how do you say "How much does it cost?" in Spanish?

As it turns out, there are a number of ways to say "How much does it cost?" in Spanish. Most literally, as the verb costar means "to cost" in Spanish, "¿Cuánto cuesta?" and "¿Cuánto cuestan?" mean "How much does it cost?" or "How much do they cost?" respectively, with the verb conjugated in the third person singular or plural depending upon whether what is being asked about is singular or plural. In these cases, the word cuánto functions as an adverb meaning "how much" in Spanish and is thus always masculine and singular. 

4. "How much is it?" in Spanish 

5. "How much do I owe you?" in Spanish 

To continue on our money theme, you might need to ask a waiter, for example, "How much do I owe you?" in Spanish. The Spanish verb for "to owe" is deber, as illustrated in the following sentence:

6. "How much do you weigh?" in Spanish 

Even though this might be an unpopular question in some circles, many people are curious to know how to say "How much do you weigh?" in Spanish. Since the verb pesar means "to weigh," it can be paired with cuánto to ask about a person's weight as follows:

Additional Expressions with Cuánto/s with Different English Translations 

Although our focus today has been how to translate English questions with "how much" into Spanish using the word cuánto and its variants, we should take a moment to mention that two of the most common Spanish questions that employ this word are not literally translated as "how much" or "how" many" in English. Let's take a look:

1. ¿Cuántos años tienes? 

You have probably heard the very common Spanish questions: "¿Cuántos años tienes?" or "¿Cuántos años tiene?"

¿Tú cuántos años tienes, Mariano?

How old are you, Mariano?

Yo, treinta y cinco. -¿Estás casado, tienes niños?

Me, thirty-five. -Are you married; do you have kids?

Captions 69-70, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa - Part 6

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2. ¿Cuánto tiempo? 

Although the Spanish phrase "cuánto tiempo" literally means "how much time," this is most commonly expressed in English as "how long."

Para ese momento ¿ustedes cuánto tiempo llevaban de novios?

At that time, how long had you been girlfriend and boyfriend?

Caption 27, Tu Voz Estéreo - Feliz Navidad

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A Couple of Answers to Questions with "How Much" in Spanish

Welcome to our very basic lesson about gender in Spanish. How can we tell the gender of nouns in Spanish? Let’s look at the most general rule: Words that end in "a" are feminine, while those that end in "o" are masculine. Pretty easy, huh? Let's look at some examples:

Y la casa es súper bonita.

And the house is super nice.

Caption 86, Blanca y Mariona - Vida en general

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Since the word casa is a feminine noun, the speaker uses the definite feminine article la before the noun. Let's see another one:

El libro es tan bueno

The book is as good

Caption 21, Karla e Isabel - Comparativos

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In this case, the speaker uses the definite masculine article el before the masculine noun libro. By the way, please feel free to check our beginner-level lesson about definite and indefinite articles in Spanish grammar.

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The unfortunate thing, however, is that this simple rule is not always true, as our friend Arume proves when she correctly says "el tema" (the topic) and not "la tema," which would be incorrect.

Y bueno ahí surge ya el tema de tengo novio, no tengo novio.

And well, that's when the topic of whether you have a boyfriend or not comes up.

Caption 75, Arume - La Vida Escolar

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And it's not just such exceptions but also some rules that can complicate the situation. For example, do you know why the Mexican band Café Tacuba’s lead singer says "el agua," using the masculine article "el" (the) instead of the feminine article "la" (the)?

It’s not because agua is a masculine noun but rather because of a rule in Spanish that states that any feminine noun that begins with a stressed "a" should take the masculine articles (el and un) in its singular form in order to facilitate pronunciation (by avoiding two "a" sounds in a row). This is similar to the manner in which the indefinite article "a" in English changes to "an" before vowels.

You will note, however, that this rule does not apply to the plural forms, which maintain their feminine articles (which end in "s" rather than "a" and thus don't pose the same pronunciation challenge):

And, in cases in which the "a" sound is unstressed, the rule doesn't apply, either:

La aceituna que yo he recogido está aquí.

The olive[s] that I have harvested [are] here.

Caption 19, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

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In any case, if you feel ready to explore some of the rules and exceptions of gender in Spanish, we invite you to take a look at our lesson about the gender of inanimate objects in Spanish. We hope that this brief introduction to gender in Spanish was useful, and please feel free to send us your suggestions and comments.

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