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

¿Cómo te llevas con el español? (How do you get along in Spanish?) Wait— didn't llevar mean "to take"? Well, yes... you're right! The verb llevar often translates as "to take," and not just in phrases like "take your umbrella" or "take your children to school," but also in collocations like "to take time." And these are just a few of the uses of the verb llevar that we'll examine in this lesson. Actually, llevaría más de una lección (it would take more than one lesson) to cover all of its uses. But let's try and do our best here!

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Llevar Meaning "To Take" Something or Someone Somewhere

We can llevar something from one place to another and also accompany or guide someone somewhere, as in the following examples:

Tengo la posibilidad de llevar todos los días al colegio a mi hijo.

I have the chance to take my son to school every day.

Caption 53, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 18

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Le voy a llevar de compras.

I'm going to take him shopping.

Caption 7, Extr@: Extra en español - Ep. 2: Sam va de compras

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It is no wonder, then, that the term for "takeout food" (comida para llevar) in Spanish can be literally translated as "food for taking":

Llevar to Introduce Cause 

When this idea of direction goes beyond space to express cause, llevar means something closer to the verbs "to lead" or "to drive" in English, as in the following example:

Una cosa llevó a la otra, ¿no?

One thing led to another, right?

Caption 13, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3

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A person might llevarte a la desesperación, a la ruina o a la locura ("lead" or "drive you to despair, bankrutpcy, or madness"), or maybe you are lucky and end up being very successful, like in this Yabla video:

Muchas veces, incluso nos puede llevar al éxito profesional.

Many times, it can even lead us to professional success.

Caption 13, Club de las ideas - Intuición

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Llevar Used with Time

Llevar also resembles "to take" when used with time, work, or effort to express that it is necessary to invest such time or effort in something. For instance, in one of our videos, María Sol explains that learning Spanish is a long process by saying that:

...de que puede llevar mucho tiempo.

...that it can take a long time.

Caption 29, GoSpanish - Entrevista con María Sol

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Yet, it can also be used to refer to the time that has gone by since the inception of something:

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en Marbella? -En Marbella, cuarenta y un años.

How long have you been in Marbella? -In Marbella, forty-one years.

Caption 10, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos - Part 11

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Llevamos más de dos semanas sin agua.

We've been without water for more than two weeks.

Caption 24, Kikirikí - Agua

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Llevar Meaning "to Wear"

We also use llevar to refer to the clothing or glasses we "wear," or the way we have our hair, in sentences such as Llevaba lentes (He/She was wearing glasses) or María llevaba el cabello largo (María had long hair).

...y me gusta llevar faldas normalmente.

...and I like to wear skirts usually.

Caption 6, El Aula Azul - Actividades Diarias

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Llevar a Cabo

Another instance in which llevar can be translated as "to take" is when we use the expression llevar a cabo (to take place), which might also mean "to carry out" or "conduct" depending on the case/collocation.

Aquí se va a llevar a cabo el Campeonato WK.

Here, the WK Championship is going to take place.

Caption 3, Adícora, Venezuela - Víctor

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Dejarse Llevar

We'll often hear people inviting us to let go, relax, and enjoy the feeling of dejarse llevar (letting oneself go), another expression which incorporates this verb:

Hay que estar relajado y dejarse llevar, ¿no?

You should be relaxed and let yourself go, right?

Caption 12, Club de las ideas - Intuición

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Llevarse Bien/Mal 

Finally, we'll can state that nos llevamos bien/mal with a person or people to describe how well or poorly we "get along with" others.

Que la puedes llevar a una... a un sitio,

That you can take her to a... to a place,

y sabes que se va a llevar bien con todo el mundo...

and you know she'll get along with everyone...

Caption 61, Biografía - Enrique Iglesias

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As you can tell, there are so many uses of llevar that se hace difícil llevar la cuenta (it's hard to keep track) of all of them. We hope you enjoyed this lesson, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!